LICIACube

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LICIACube
Part of Double Asteroid Redirection Test
A person in a labcoat handles a box-sized satellite bus.
LICIACube at the Applied Physics Laboratory in August 2021
Type6U CubeSat
COSPAR ID2021-110C
SATCAT no.T00005
OwnerItalian Space Agency
ManufacturerArgotec
Specifications
Dimensions10 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm
(3.9 in × 7.9 in × 11.8 in)
Launch mass14 kg (31 lb)
CommunicationX-band
PowerSolar array × 2
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5, B1063.3
Instruments
  • LEIA
  • LUKE
History
Launched
  • 24 November 2021, 06:21:02 UTC
  • from Vandenberg Space Force Base, SLC-4E
Deployed
  • 26 September 2022 (planned)
  • from DART
LocationHeliocentric orbit (planned)

Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) is a 6-unit CubeSat of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). LICIACube is a part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and is built to carry out observational analysis of the Didymos asteroid binary system after DART's impact. It will communicate directly with Earth, sending back images of the ejecta and plume of DART's impact as well as do asteroidal study during its flyby of the Didymos system from a distance of 55 km (34 mi), 3 days after DART's impact.[1] LICIACube is the first purely Italian autonomous spacecraft in deep space. Data archiving and processing is managed by the Space Science Data Center (SSDC) of the ASI.

History[]

LICIACube is the first deep space mission developed and autonomously managed by an Italian team. To collaborate upon the design, integration, and testing of the CubeSat, the Italian Space Agency selected the aerospace company Argotec, while the LICIACube GS has a complex architecture based on a mission control center hosted by Argotec. Antennas of the NASA Deep Space Network (NASA DSN) and data archiving and processing is managed at the ASI SSDC. The scientific team making this cubesat is led by National Institute of Astrophysics INAF (OAR, IAPS, OAA, OAPd, OATs) with the support of IFAC-CNR and Parthenope University of Naples. The team is supported by the University of Bologna for orbit determination and satellite navigation and the Polytechnic University of Milan, for mission analysis and optimisation. The LICIACube team includes the wider Italian scientific community involved in the definition of all the aspects of the mission: trajectory design; mission definition (and real-time orbit determination during operations); impact, plume and imaging simulation, and modelling, in preparation of a suitable framework for the analysis and interpretation of in situ data. Major technological challenges during the mission (autonomous targeting and imaging of such a small body during a fast flyby with the limited resources of a CubeSat) is affordable thanks to cooperation between the mentioned teams in support of the engineering tasks.

Satellite design[]

In order to deal with the mission, the Argotec platform uses an autonomous navigation system, two light solar arrays, an integrated propulsion system, two cameras, an X-band communication system, and an advanced on-board computer.

Scientific payload[]

LICIACube is equipped with two optical cameras for conducting asteroidal reconnaissance during flyby, dubbed LEIA (LICIACube Explorer Imaging for Asteroid), a narrow field of view (FoV) camera, and LUKE (LICIACube Unit Key Explorer), a wide FoV imager with an RGB Bayer pattern infrared filter. These will capture scientific data revealing the composition of the asteroid and provide data for its autonomous system by finding and tracking the asteroid throughout the encounter. As it will be released when DART speeds up for its intentional impact, it is planned for it to take an image every 6 seconds during DART's impact period. It has preliminary flyby targets including taking 3 high resolution images revealing the asteroid's morphology concentrating on the physics of the asteroid and plume generations after impact. This may help characterise the consequences of the impact.

Mission profile[]

Launch[]

LICIACube was manufactured in Italy and sent to Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University in September 2021. On 8 September 2021, the LICIACube was integrated into the DART spacecraft for launch on 24 November 2021, at 06:21:02 UTC, inside a spring-loaded box placed on the wall of the DART spacecraft.

Cruise phase and flyby[]

After the launch, the CubeSat remains enclosed within a spring-loaded box and piggybacks with the DART spacecraft for almost the entire duration of DART's mission. It will separate from DART by being ejected at roughly 4 km/h (2.5 mph) relative to DART 10 days before impact, allowing it to acquire images of the impact and ejecta as it drifts past the asteroid 3 days after the impact.[2][3][4][5]

Mission after flyby[]

After the flyby, it will spend a few weeks' time sending the data back to Earth. Depending on its status and remaining propellant, it can potentially do another asteroid visit.

Goals[]

Its goals are to:

  • Document the effect of DART's impact on the secondary member of the 65803 Didymos binary asteroid system
  • Characterise the shape of the target
  • Perform dedicated scientific investigations on it

Gallery[]

  • Animated video of the DART mission

  • Artist's illustration of DART and LICIACube at the Didymos system

  • Infographic of the effects of DART's impact on the orbit of Dimorphos and the deployment of LICIACube.

  • LICIACube CubeSat integrating on DART spacecraft

  • LICIACube CubeSat integrated on DART spacecraft.

  • DART spacecraft

  • DART mating to payload adapter

  • Falcon 9 launch vehicle's payload fairing being attached to NASA's DART spacecraft on 16 November 2021.

  • DART vertical at launch pad

See also[]

  • Double Asteroid Redirection Test
  • Asteroid impact avoidance
  • B612 Foundation
  • Don Quijote (spacecraft)
  • NEOCam
  • Planetary defense against asteroids and comets
  • The Spaceguard Foundation

References[]

  1. ^ Cheng, Andy (15 November 2018). "DART Mission Update". ESA. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  2. ^ Asteroids have been hitting the Earth for billions of years. In 2022, we hit back. Archived 2018-10-31 at the Wayback Machine Andy Rivkin, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory 27 September 2018
  3. ^ Kretschmar, Peter; Küppers, Michael (20 December 2018). "The CubeSat Revolution" (PDF). ESA. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ Adams, Elena; Oshaughnessy, Daniel; Reinhart, Matthew; John, Jeremy; Congdon, Elizabeth; Gallagher, Daniel; Abel, Elisabeth; Atchison, Justin; Fletcher, Zachary; Chen, Michelle; Heistand, Christopher; Huang, Philip; Smith, Evan; Sibol, Deane; Bekker, Dmitriy; Carrelli, David (2019). "Double Asteroid Redirection Test: The Earth Strikes Back". 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference. pp. 1–11. doi:10.1109/AERO.2019.8742007. ISBN 978-1-5386-6854-2. S2CID 195222414. In addition, DART is carrying a 6U CubeSat provided by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). The CubeSat will provide imagery documentation of the impact, as well as in situ observation of the impact site and resultant ejecta plume
  5. ^ Fahnestock, E.; Yu, Y.; Cheng, A. F. (2018). "DART Impact Ejecta Simulation and Visualization for Fly-Along CubeSat Operational Planning". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 2018: P51A–07. Bibcode:2018AGUFM.P51A..07F.
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