The VISORS mission will observe the Sun's corona with the goal of collecting data that can shed light on the mechanisms of coronal heating. This will be accomplished through the use of a diffractive telescope. The telescope requires a focal length of 40 meters, which will be achieved by implementing two precisely positioned 6U CubeSats flying in formation. One spacecraft will carry the telescope optics, and the other will carry the detector. The spacecraft have stringent relative positioning requirements in science operations, which must be maintained during 10 second observations. In order to accomplish this relative positioning, a propulsion system capable of providing precise impulses in six orthogonal directions is necessary on board each spacecraft. Due to the varied shapes and sizes of each spacecraft's respective available payload volume, a different envelope is allotted to each spacecraft's propulsion system. 3-D printing the propellant tanks, nozzles, and tubing into one structure allows the full available propulsion volumes to be used despite their unusual shapes. This has contributed to the design of two low-cost propulsion systems capable of providing a combined total velocity change of 23 m/s. This paper describes the pertinent mission requirements, propulsion system design methodologies, and expected performance characteristics of the thrusters.

The Lunar Flashlight mission is designed to send a 6U CubeSat into lunar orbit with the aim of finding water-ice deposits on the lunar south pole. The Glenn Lightsey Research Group (GLRG) within Georgia Tech’s Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) is developing a low-cost propulsion system controller for this satellite using commercial-o↵-the-shelf (COTS) parts, with an emphasis on overcoming the harsh environment of lunar orbit through careful architecture and testing. This paper provides in-depth coverage of the Lunar Flashlight Propulsion System (LFPS) controller development and testing processes, showing how an embedded system based on COTS parts can be designed for the intense environment of space. From the high-level requirements architecture to the selection of specific hardware components and software design choices, followed by rigorous environmental testing of the design, radiation and other environmental hardening can be achieved with high confidence.

Several moons in our solar system, including Europa, are believed to host large bodies of liquid water beneath ice shells. These water bodies are compelling locations in the search for life beyond Earth, but present significant challenges to access in future planetary missions. The Vertical Entry Robot for Navigating Europa (VERNE) is a robotic mission concept to penetrate and operate within Europa's ice shell and ocean funded through the Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME) program. SESAME requires a vehicle capable of penetrating a hypothetical 15 km Europan ice shell within three years. VERNE will utilize a thermo-mechanical drill to descend into the ice while a suite of onboard sensors constrains ice properties and look for life by analyzing the meltwater. Data will be relayed to a surface lander via a redundant communication system comprised of a primary optical fiber cable and secondary wireless acoustic repeaters. Upon nearing the base of the ice shell, VERNE will release an anchor and then breakthrough into the ocean to profile the upper 100 m of the ocean and ice interface, a region with high potential for evidence of life. Here we present the mission success criteria, concept of operation, and vehicle architecture. We identify key technologies that are currently available as well as those that require maturation to support future subsurface access of ocean worlds. Throughout this activity, the design team sought to leverage experience with analog environments on Earth to generate a concept which demonstrates that such a mission is feasible within the coming decades.