I assure you, a deorbit propulsion system, will not suffice. The government will not trust AMSAT to produce one that will last years on orbit. The recent ISS emergency after Russian ASAT has everyone "woke" (that word should suffice to demonstrate how bad I think the situation is).
There is, in my estimation, only one future path that is viable for small groups with any part of their orbit outside of low LEO (God provides the deorbit propulsion).
Bob
Returning to higher Earth orbits (HEO) is proving to be more complicated than past AMSAT’s missions. New and proposed U.S. regulatory restrictions are creating significant obstacles (and in some cases, barriers ) in our path. In addition, the de facto CubeSat form factor requires us to downsize and even shoehorn many of the necessary systems into a spacecraft no larger than a loaf of bread (3U) or small briefcase (6U). As an example, finding a micro-propulsion system that will satisfy our delta-v budget for achieving attitude and orbit control, orbital transfers, and end-of-life deorbiting or a move-away-and-stay-away storage solution, is one such challenge. If that’s not enough, we have to find a propellant safe enough to satisfy launch provider restrictions. I know that doing more with less has always been the unofficial motto of AMSAT, but this was generally in reference to our project funding. Now, we have to take that same approach to our design of CubeSat sub-systems, capable of operating in higher Earth orbits.
A ride-share opportunity (similar to AMSAT-DL’s amateur radio integration aboard Es'hail 2 / QO-100) would certainly make our return to HEO easier. Unfortunately, finding a geostationary prospect over the Western Hemisphere has proven to be harder than we hoped. Absent a gift from the satellite gods, we need to press on with designing, building, and operating our own HEO spacecraft.
NASA JPL’s Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats could offer invaluable design cues for our own HEO-bound spacecraft. In 2018, NASA launched two, 6U CubeSats to Mars, to serve as communication-relays in support of NASA’s InSight Mars lander mission. These CubeSats featured deployable solar panels, X-band communications, a deployable reflectarray antenna, and a cold-gas micro-propulsion system. Additionally, each CubeSats' attitude-control system combined a star tracker, Sun sensors, gyroscopes, and three-axis reaction wheels for monitoring and adjusting orientation.
The total cost of NASA’s Mars Cube One mission was $18 million. Hopefully, our return to HEO will be a fraction of that cost.
73,
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
President
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
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