The Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) mission is an upcoming technology demonstration mission focused on hyperspectral long-wave remote observations of the Earth and atmosphere. The ACMES mission will feature several novel payloads and support technologies, including the HyTI 2.0 hyperspectral thermal imager, a LWIR Fabry-Perot style interferometer capable of generating multispectral scientific datasets on par with traditional satellites such as Landsat. HyTI features 25 spectral bands (8-12 mu m) with a ground sampling resolution of similar to 45 meters. The HyTI 2.0 instrument will map the Earth's surface for mineralogy, geology, hydrology, and atmospheric phenomena, including volcanic ash and dust. The ACMES satellite will also feature two student-led projects, FINIS and PLAID. The Filter Incidence Narrowband Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS) instrument is a novel, miniature, tilted filter SWIR spectrometer for daytime observations of Methane. FINIS will help to monitor global climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions. PLAID is a planar-style in-situ ionospheric probe package for in-situ measurements of atmospheric electron density and spacecraft surface charging. The ACMES satellite will include the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA), an advanced single-phase fluidic thermal control system (ATC). The ATA will provide payload thermal support to the HyTI 2.0 instrument. The ACMES mission will launch in early 2026 to a high-inclination SSO orbit at 550 km and will serve a one-year primary mission to demonstrate the various novel technologies, followed by up to three years of scientific operations. The ACMES spacecraft is currently under development by the Center for Space Engineering at Utah State University, the Hawaii Spaceflight Laboratory, and Orion Space Solutions, an Arcfield company. ACMES is funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (STMD) through an In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) grant.

The Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) is an advanced CubeSat mission selected for flight under the In-space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program in support of the NASA Science Mission Directorate and the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) [1]. The ACMES program is a joint development effort led by the Center for Space Engineering at Utah State University (CSE USU) in collaboration with Orion Space Solutions (OSS), and the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) at the University of Hawaii Manoa. ACMES is currently scheduled to launch in 2025 to a similar to 550 km sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO) with a local node (ascending time) between 11:30 and 12:30. The ACMES satellite, a +16U CubeSat bus from the OSS Triton line, serves as a technology host platform for four unique remote and in situ earth-observing payloads. Including the second-generation Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI 2.0), The Filter Incidence Narrow-band Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS), the Planar Langmuir Impedance Diagnostic (PLAID) probe, and a novel active thermal control system. The Active Thermal Architecture technology (ATA). ACMES will consist of a 1-year primary mission to demonstrate and validate each of the hosted payloads in situ, raising the operational TRL to similar to 7, followed by up to a 3-year extended mission to gather valuable scientific data for the earth science community. The ACMES satellite and its payloads represent an important progression in satellite remote sensing and CubeSat technology/capabilities. Ultimately, the ACMES satellite represents a paradigm shift towards low-cost, fast-to-space, small satellite constellations that are scientifically valuable space platforms. Producing IR observations on par, if not exceeding traditional satellite missions. It is the author's hope, that in the future, small satellites will provide continuous observations of the near-earth environment and that ACMES will demonstrate that capability.

Integrated active thermal control is a critical enabling technology for high-powered modern CubeSats and Small Satellites. We will discuss the design and development of the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA), a sub 1U integrated, active thermal control system based on a single-phase mechanically pumped fluid loop heat exchanger. The ATA leverages advanced Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) to directly incorporate the cooling channels into the spacecraft structure, creating multi-functional assemblies that help miniaturize and simplify the ATA system. The ATA also optimizes thermal rejection through a two-axis rotary fluid joint connected to an external deployable tracking radiator. The ATA is capable of bulk thermal rejection and zonal temperature control of payloads and CubeSat structures. The ATA will be featured on the upcoming Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) mission and will serve as payload support to the next-generation Hyperspectral Longwave IR (HyTI 2.0) instrument. HyTI is an advanced next-generation hyperspectral long-wave IR ground imager capable of producing LandSat equivalent science from a CubeSat platform. HyTI produces 25 spectral bands between 8 μm to12 μm with a ground sampling distance better than 45 meters. ACMES will also feature two student lead projects: The Filter Incidence Narrow-band Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS), a daytime Methane detector, and the Planar Langmuir Impedance Diagnostic (PLAID) instrument, a planar style RF impedance probe. ACMES is scheduled to launch to an approximate 550 km SSO orbit in late 2024. ACMES is funded by the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) through an In-Space Validation (InVEST) grant.

The Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) is a 16U CubeSat mission funded under the NASA Earth Science Technology Office. ACMES will simultaneously advance two new technologies. The first technology is the Active Thermal Architecture, a complete end-to-end solution for active thermal control of cryogenic instruments on nanosatellites. The second technology is the hyperspectral imaging in the IR using both spatially modulated interferometric and spatially modulated spectral imaging techniques. The ACMES mission is being led by Utah State University with the University of Hawaii and implemented by Orion Space Solutions, with a delivery for launch in late 2024.

The Utah State University has been developing a compact IR spectrometer for atmospheric methane measurements called FINIS. FINIS is a binocular imager with narrowband interference filters placed at the entrance of each optical assembly with a tilted angle. The filter’s center wavelength dependency with the angle of incidence allows for a highly efficient light dispersion across the focal plane. The spectrum across the 1658-1668nm wavelength window is acquired as the ground samples cross the field of view. The methane concentration is computed using an inversion method, combining measurements from both optical systems to enhance the overall signal-to-noise ratio. This paper presents an overview of the tilted interference filter technique as well as the methane retrieval performance considering the instrument’s design parameters.

Earth and Space Science Open Archive This preprint has been submitted to and is under consideration at Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. ESSOAr is a venue for early communication or feedback before peer review. Data may be preliminary.Learn more about preprints preprintOpen AccessYou are viewing the latest version by default [v1]Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances Detected by the Scintillation Observations and Response of The Ionosphere to Electrodynamics (SORTIE) CubeSat at 420 km AltitudeAuthorsIrfanAzeemiDGeoffCrowelyiDWanliWuCora ERandallV. LynnHarveyiDSharon L.SharonM. JoanAlexanderiDKarthikVenkatarmaniRussell AlanStonebackMichaelPerdueMatthewDepewErikStrombergiDChadFishAdamReynoldsAnthonySwensonTedTashiDSee all authors Irfan AzeemiDCorresponding Author• Submitting AuthorASTRA LLC.iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8928-9837view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressGeoff CrowelyiDASTRAiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2058-7254view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressWanli WuASTRA LLCview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressCora E RandallUniversity of Colorado Boulderview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressV. Lynn HarveyiDUniversity of Colorado BoulderiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-0804view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressSharon L. SharonNorthWest Research Associatesview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressM. Joan AlexanderiDNorthWest Research Associates, CoRA OfficeiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2495-3597view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressKarthik VenkatarmaniASTRA LLCview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressRussell Alan StonebackStoneris LLCview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressMichael PerdueUniversity of Texas at Dallasview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressMatthew DepewUniversity of Texas at Dallasview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressErik StrombergiDASTRA LLC.iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5187-2261view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressChad FishASTRA LLCview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressAdam ReynoldsASTRAview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressAnthony SwensonASTRA LLCview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressTed TashiDASTRA LLCiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3603-4478view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email address

When the first CubeSats were launched nearly two decades ago, few people believed that the miniature satellites would likely prove to be a useful scientific tool. Skeptics abounded. However, the last decade has seen the highly successful implementation of space missions that make creative and innovative use of fast-advancing CubeSat and small satellite technology to carry out important science experiments and missions. Several projects now have used CubeSats to obtain first-of-their-kind observations and findings that have formed the basis for high-profile engineering and science publications, thereby establishing without doubt the scientific value and broad utility of CubeSats. In this paper, we describe recent achievements and lessons learned from a representative selection of successful CubeSat missions with a space weather focus. We conclude that these missions were successful in part because their limited resources promoted not only mission focus but also appropriate risk-taking for comparatively high science return. Quantitative analysis of refereed publications from these CubeSat missions and several larger missions reveals that mission outcome metrics compare favorably when publication number is normalized by mission cost or if expressed as a weighted net scientific impact of all mission publications.

The diurnal-eastward propagating tide with zonal wavenumber 3 (DE3) has gained significant attention due to its ability to preferentially propagate to the ionosphere and thermosphere (IT) from the tropical troposphere, thus effectively coupling these atmospheric regions. In this work, we demonstrate the existence of a pronounced zonal wavenumber 4 (WN4) structure in the low-latitude ionosphere during May 27 - June 5, 2020 using concurrent in-situ total ion number density measurements from the Scintillation Observations and Response of The Ionosphere to Electrodynamics (SORTIE) and the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellites. Temperature observations from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) instrument near 105 km and output from the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere eXtension (SD/WACCM-X) demonstrate that this global-scale ionospheric WN4 structure is due to DE3 propagating through the lower thermosphere.

Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) recently designed, built, and delivered the Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment (SOFIE) instrument as the primary sensor in the NASA Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) instrument suite. AIM’s mission is to study polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). SOFIE will make measurements in 16 separate spectral bands, arranged in eight pairs between 0.29 and 5.3 μm. Each band pair will provide differential absorption limb-path transmission profiles for an atmospheric component of interest, by observing the sun through the limb of the atmsophere during solar occulation as AIM orbits Earth. A pointing mirror and imaging sun sensor coaligned with the detectors are used to track the sun during occulation events and maintain stable alignment of the sun on the detectors. This paper outlines the mission requirements and goals, gives an overview of the instrument design, fabrication, testing and calibration results, and discusses lessons learned in the process.

: Gravity wave packets excited by a source of finite duration and size possess a broad frequency and wavenumber spectrum, and thus span a range of temporal and spatial scales. Observing at a single location relatively close to the source, the wave components with higher frequency and larger vertical wavelength dominate at earlier times and at higher altitudes while the lower frequency components, with shorter vertical wavelength, dominate during the latter part of the propagation. Utilizing observations from the Na lidar at Utah State University and the nearby Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (MTM) at Bear Lake Observatory (BLO) [41.9°N, 111.4°W], we investigate a unique case of vertical dispersion for a spectrally broad gravity wave packet in the mesopause region over Logan, Utah (41.7°N, 111.8°W) that occurred on September 2 nd , 2011, to study the waves‟ evolution as it propagates upward. The lidar observed temperature perturbation was dominated by close to a 1-hour modulation at 100 km during the early hours, but gradually evolved into a 1.5-hour modulation during the second half of the night. The vertical wavelength also decreased simultaneously, while the vertical group and phase velocities of the packet apparently slowed, as it was approaching a critical level during the second half of the night. A two-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate the observed GW processes, finding that the location of the lidar relative to the source can strongly influence which portion of the spectrum can be observed at a particular location relative to a source.

While mesospheric temperature anomalies associated with Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) have been observed extensively in the polar regions, observations of these anomalies at midlatitudes are sparse. The original Rayleigh-scatter lidar that operated at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO; 41.7°N, 111.8°W) in the Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences (CASS) on the campus of Utah State University (USU) collected an extensive set of temperature data for 11 years in the 45–90 km altitude range. This work focuses on the extensive Rayleigh lidar observations made during six major SSW events that occurred between 1993 and 2004, providing a climatological study of the midlatitude mesospheric temperatures during these SSW events. An overall disturbance pattern was observed in the mesospheric temperatures during these SSWs. It included coolings in the upper mesosphere, comparable to those seen in the polar regions during SSW events, and warmings in the lower mesosphere.

While the mesospheric temperature anomalies associated with Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) have been observed extensively in the polar regions, observations of these anomalies at midlatitudes are much more sparse. The Rayleigh‐scatter lidar system, which operated at the Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences on the campus of Utah State University (41.7°N, 111.8°W), collected a very dense set of observations, from 1993 to 2004, over a 45–90 km altitude range. This paper focuses on Rayleigh lidar temperatures derived during the six major SSW events that occurred during the 11 year period when the lidar was operating and aims to characterize the local response to these midlatitude SSW events. In order to determine the characteristics of these mesospheric temperature anomalies, comparisons were made between the temperatures from individual nights during a SSW event and a climatological temperature profile. An overall disturbance pattern was observed in the mesospheric temperatures associated with SSW events, including coolings in the upper mesosphere and warmings in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere, both comparable to those seen at polar latitudes.

SummaryBy regulatory fiat, secondary communication services cannot cause harmful interference to primary communication services, and they cannot claim protection from harmful interference from the primary service. This paper is about establishing reliable high data rate space‐to‐Earth communication in the asymmetric setting of a secondary service in the 460–470 MHz frequency band. In this band, the primary services consist of signals that are narrowband relative to the bandwidth of the signal of interest. A frequency domain approach is adopted to detect and cancel narrowband interference. After this processing, the signal of interest can be demodulated by standard techniques. This approach is shown to be effective on real data collected for the Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment mission. The telemetry concept for Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment was developed with a view toward demonstrating a high‐speed data downlink capability that may be adopted as a standard for future CubeSat missions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.