GASPACS

GASPACS was a 1U CubeSat, meaning it measured 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters (3.9 in).[9][10] GASPACS's primary mission objective was to deploy and photograph a 1-meter (39 inches) inflatable aerodynamic boom.[3] This custom first of its kind "AeroBoom" was designed by the undergraduate members of the USU GAS team.[11][4] The AeroBoom was designed as an alternative to Gravity-gradient stabilization for spacecraft using passive attitude control in Low Earth orbit, or other active forms of attitude control such as magnetorquers or reaction wheels.[4][12] The AeroBoom worked similarly to the feathers on an arrow. Molecules of air in the Earth's upper atmosphere struck the AeroBoom, causing a stabilizing torque.[13][10] The secondary objective of GASPACS was to measure and analyze attitude behavior to verify the AeroBoom was providing passive attitude control.[12]

GASPACS was selected and sponsored by NASA through the CubeSat Launch Initiative program in 2014.[14] The CSLI contract provided launch services for GASPACS.

GASPACS moments after deployment from the International Space Station

GASPACS was delivered to Nanoracks on September 23, 2021.[15] On December 21, 2021, GASPACS was launched to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX CRS-24, as part of NASA mission ELaNa 38.[13][16][17] One month later, on January 26, 2022, GASPACS was deployed from the ISS via a Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer by U.S. astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn.[18][19][20]

NASA requires all CubeSats deployed from the ISS to wait a minimum of 30 minutes after deployment to begin booting up and starting their mission. After this required lapse of time, GASPACS autonomously booted up and deployed its antennas.[9] 47 minutes after deployment a ground station in Tokyo, Japan recorded the first successful observation of GASPACS's beacons.[21][22][9] These beacons included an AX.25 identifier, as well as an audio beacon. The audio beacon consisted of the satellite's N7GAS callsign in Morse code, followed by a digitalized rendition of "The Scotsman'', USU's spirit song.[18][23][24]

18 hours after deployment from the ISS, GASPACS passed over the mission control ground station located on USU's campus and transmitted a photograph of the satellite's inflated boom, confirming primary mission success.[6] In the weeks following deployment, several sections of attitude data from the onboard accelerometer were downlinked, confirming the effectiveness of the AeroBoom mechanism.[6]

GASPACS was constructed utilizing the following components:[6]

The North American Aerospace Defense Command designated GASPACS as NORAD ID 51439.[35]

Three days after deployment, on January 29, 2022, GASPACS faced a major setback when power was lost on the Y-channel. This caused a significant reduction in the available power. GASPACS entered a perpetual charge cycle, charging up for approximately six hours on its remaining solar panels before reaching the power required to turn back on. Once booted up, GASPACS would stay powered on for approximately an hour before shutting off due to low power, and repeating the cycle. This continuous power cycle greatly reduced the quantity of data GASPACS was able to transmit to Earth.[6]

On May 6, 2022, loss of the Z-channel was confirmed. This once again drastically reduced GASPACS's available power. Despite this, GASPACS continued to power on when possible, and ground operators were able to receive several packets of telemetry data, photo data, and AX.25 beacons.

The satellite decayed from orbit on 22 May 2022.[1]