NASA has launched a demonstration mission designed to test the performance of a new small spacecraft platform designed to expand the capabilities of current small spacecraft. By demonstrating the advantages of a flat, disc-shaped architecture over the conventional CubeSat design, DiskSat aims to enable lower-cost space missions, broaden scientific opportunities and increase overall access to space.
The demonstration will evaluate the performance of the DiskSat spacecraft themselves, as well as that of a specialised dispenser mechanism. The dispenser is engineered to securely contain four DiskSat spacecraft during launch, then sequentially deploy them into low Earth orbit, where they will perform manoeuvres.
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Each DiskSat is a circular, flat spacecraft a metre in diameter and 2.5 centimetres thick – similar to a small coffee table. Each has an electric propulsion system to allow for orbit changes and maintenance. The DiskSat design is also conducive to operations in very low Earth orbit, which can offer sharper Earth imaging and sensing capabilities, as well as lower latency communications solutions.
According to NASA, DiskSat will provide mission designers new flexibility, enabling them to pursue and achieve the organisation’s goals faster and more affordably. DiskSats offer an alternative platform that could significantly expand the scope of future small spacecraft missions for NASA, the commercial space industry, other government agencies and academia. The DiskSat demonstration also supports NASA’s long-term plans for sustained exploration at the Moon and Mars, as well as advancing its ability to study and better understand our home planet.
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The Aerospace Corporation, headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, is leading the design and development of the DiskSat concept, as well as the DiskSat spacecraft. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, the agency’s only owned and operated launch range, enabled the mission providing services such as tracking, telemetry and range safety to ensure a safe and successful mission.