Cislunar Explorers

Cislunar Explorers is a flight experiment project within the Space Systems Design Studio. It is a 12U CubeSat (cube satellite) demonstrating the viability of water electrolysis propulsion and optical navigation technologies in a GTO to Escape Earth’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) orbit. We are a research team at Cornell University comprising undergraduate and graduate students.

The primary technology demonstration is water electrolysis propulsion. This mission paves the way for future missions to demonstrates In Situ Resource Utilization of water. Currently, spacecraft travel is limited by the type of fuel used and the amount of fuel consumption throughout the duration of a mission. Water is abundant in our solar system. Refueling spacecraft with onboard water will enable more delta-v intensive missions.                                

The CisLunar Explorers team has successfully demonstrated water electrolysis propulsion in a laboratory setting (February 2021). Water stored in a propulsion tank is electrolyzed using power generated from solar panels into a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gasses ― an excellent combustible rocket propellant. The spacecraft spin acts like a centrifuge to separate combustible gasses from the inert water in the propulsion tanks.

The secondary technology demonstration is optical navigation using inexpensive cameras, computer vision, and math to determine where the Cislunar Explorers CubeSat is in space. Navigation and attitude data obtained from the spacecraft by capturing pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth and applying image recognition using an onboard computer will be compared with flight heritage solutions to characterize the reliability of optical navigation.

Historically, the Cislunar Explorers mission was a pair of L-shaped 3U CubeSats that won NASA’s CubeQuest Challenge in 2016 to secure a coveted launch spot on NASA’s SLS as part of the Artemis I mission. After extensive analysis, the team concluded that both mission objectives would be better achieved as a 12U CubeSat. The new selected trajectory configuration for Cislunar Explorers is to start in GTO and raise apogee until the spacecraft escapes Earth’s SOI.

After extensive analysis, the team concluded that both mission objectives would be better achieved as a 12U CubeSat. The new selected trajectory configuration for CisLunar Explorers is to start in GTO and raise apogee until the spacecraft escapes Earth’s SOI.

WHO WE ARE

In order to build the most successful spacecraft, the Cislunar Explorers team comprises subteams that have individualized specialties and goals. Subteams work together, ensuring that everyone has a holistic understanding of the spacecraft.

Chief Engineer:

Our Chief Engineer is Emily Matteson and can be reached at eem68@cornell.edu. 

Mechanical/Integration & Testing:

The Integration and Testing team completed assembling the 12U CubeSat bus in the form of two 6U CubeSat buses. After extensively documenting the specifications of the bus, multiple CAD configurations of the Propulsion, ADCS, and optical navigation hardware subsystems were created in SolidWorks to plan the configuration of the 12U as well as any hardware mounts that need to be developed. In the process of creating CAD configurations, the I&T team also designed and prototyped preliminary mounts to fasten the two 6U together. Further ANSYS is required to determine the build reliability of these mounts.

The Spring 2023 Integration and Testing team will begin focusing on Electronics Box redesign working in conjunction with the Electrical/Avionics team. There will also be structural analysis being done through ANSYS for the current bus structure and mounts. CAD development will also continue in the Spring as hardware is finalized for the ADCS, Propulsion, Optical Navigation, and Electrical subsystems.

The current Team Lead of Mechanical/Integration & Testing is Nidhi Sonwalkar, and can be reached at nrs84@cornell.edu. Current members include Hannah Sherman, Lance Borgers, Max Freeman, Mohamed Aden, and Raj Singh.

Trajectory: 

The Cislunar Explorers Team converged on a trajectory for our 12U CubeSat that starts in GTO and raises apogee until the spacecraft escapes Earth’s Sphere of Influence. A preliminary analysis using Systems Tool Kit (STK) software verifies that the 12U CubeSat has the delta-v budget to achieve this orbit. Further analysis involves creating a Matlab model to further iterate and account for orbital perturbations that the spacecraft would experience.

The Spring 2023 Trajectory team is working on the first iteration of this Matlab model using a two-body orbit to determine a total delta-v value and amount of fuel used that confirms or is less than the team’s predictions.

The current Team Lead of Trajectory is Emily Matteson, and can be reached at eem68@cornell.edu.

Attitude Control and Determination System:

The ADCS subteam is responsible for ensuring that the spacecraft knows where it is and how to get the spacecraft to where it needs to go safely and reliably. 

The current Team Lead of ACDS is Stefan Bell and can be reached at sb855@cornell.edu. Current member is Anthony Capobianco.

Propulsion:

The Propulsion subteam is responsible for movement in space including station keeping or changing orbit. Our role since Fall 2022 is to redesign our system to fit into a 12U bus and operate with the help of other subsystems. Much of our work involves trade studies, physical testing, modeling using Solidworks, and simulations using ANSYS.

The current Team Lead of Propulsion is Tyler Walker, and can be reached at  tjw89@cornell.edu. Current members include Sarah Bewley, Om Deshmukh, Ethan Francolla, Yanzhou Wu, and Zheyuan Zheng.                              

Software:

The Flight Software subteam is responsible for the design, development, and testing of the spacecraft’s flight software and telemetry architecture. We tackle a variety of challenges and interesting problems on a daily basis— from intricate OpNav math to code optimization. 

The current Team Lead of Software is Adam Nasir, and can be reached at arn45@cornell.edu. Current members include Akanksha Sarkar, Teddy Bocam, Eric Xue, Lulu Htutt, Michelle Prior, Nissi Ragland, Patricia Huang, Thomas McFarland, Zahin Faruque, and Mary Yuan. 

Simulation:

The Simulation and Data sub-team is responsible for the design, development, and testing of mission simulation and telemetry visualization solutions.

The current Team Lead of Simulation is Cameron Goddard, and can be reached at csg83@cornell.edu. 

Electrical:

The electrical subteam is responsible for the spacecraft’s electronics, power, and communications systems. 

The current Team Lead of Electrical is Paul Judge, and can be reached at pgj23@cornell.edu. Current members include Angela Zhang, Berk Gokmen, David Johnson, Elias Castro, and Rahma Abdullah.

 Business:

The business subteam manages the website, social media, fundraising, marketing, socials, and merchandise.

The current Team Lead of Business is Kathryn McIntyre, and can be reached at kgm52@cornell.edu.

ALUMNI OF 12U CISLUNAR EXPLORERS:

Max Yasgur—M. Eng, 2022, Former ADCS Lead

Nick Demaria—M. Eng, 2022, Systems and ADCS