by Shireen Dooling
The LightCube mission’s goal was to spark the imaginations of students and the realization that they can build, send, and interact with a satellite in orbit. Using a remotely triggered flash system, Lightcube would be visible to the naked eye, a feat which has yet to be achieved. By offering a response from space visible on the ground, Lightcube offered a radically direct way to interact with an object in orbit and experience the night sky. Flashes were rate and location limited to limit impacts to astronomy and the night sky. The mission was managed by the Interplanetary Laboratory with contributions from students, faculty and alumni. The satellite was designed, built, and tested by students working in the Lab facilities on the Tempe campus at Arizona State.
Interplanetary is featuring three of the students and their perspectives around the mission in a questions and answers format below. Learn more about what goes into a mission and that even through unexpected outcomes, learning something you didn’t know before is still a successful mission.
Contributor: Ashley Lepham – Mechanical Engineer
Bio: Degree, why you’re involved with the Interplanetary Lab, other hobbies, dream career goal.
I’m currently finishing up my final year of my BSE in Mechanical Engineering and spent my sophomore and junior years working on LightCube. I applied to work at the lab at the end of my freshman year as the lab’s projects aligned with the industry I hoped to enter after graduation – space/aerospace. Luckily enough, I was hired and got the opportunity to work on a variety of mechanical engineering related projects that allowed me to hone my design and analysis skills. Outside of all this though, I enjoy baking, gaming, watching movies and shows, and going to the gym!
What was your role in the mission’s objectives?
My more major tasks in LightCube included designing a reflector that would redirect the light from the Xenon flashtubes into our desired area of illumination and developing a method for manufacturing solar panels in-house. Both tasks were challenging, as I had absolutely zero experience with either, but were also very valuable experiences for both myself and the lab, despite the fact that neither of these tasks were very mechanical engineering oriented. Aside from these components, I also performed other auxiliary tasks, such as designing and producing test fixtures for vibration tests, performing vibration tests, or creating engineering drawings for parts to be externally manufactured.
Was the mission considered a success to you? Why or why not?
Although we never saw LightCube flash from space, I would still consider the mission a great success. The lab gained valuable knowledge about particular practices when it comes to developing and delivering a CubeSat (i.e. having more than one person working on the satellite, how to stake wires), how to better manage time and schedule, and about local businesses that we could go to for manufacturing – all things that would help future lab CubeSats be more successful. Additionally, we managed to verify that multiple components, such as the solar panels and the antenna, are now flight proven designs, which were all components that were built in-house and had never gone to space before!
Reflecting on your experience and your role on the team, what was the most valuable skill, concept, or perspective you gained from your time on this project personally and as a future professional in the aerospace industry?
During LightCube, one of the major lessons that I learned was to not be afraid of tackling a new, unfamiliar task. Prior to LightCube, I had very little practical engineering experience and was extremely intimidated by my major tasks on LightCube and, as a result, initially would fall into the trap of being too afraid to make mistakes or ask questions and making very slow progress. However, due to LightCube’s schedule and with the support of the lab, I was able to overcome these fears and learned to just dive into the problem and ask many questions along the way. As a structural analysis intern at Northrop Grumman, this ability has allowed me to approach many of my more unfamiliar and challenging tasks, especially as a young engineer, with excitement, since I know that struggling through these analyses will help me become a better engineer and yield new skills and knowledge.
What are your future goals after you finish your academic career?
Currently, I intern for the structural analysis group at Northrop Grumman’s Launch Vehicle division in Chandler and have been greatly enjoying it so far. Prior to this internship, I already had some interest in structural analysis, so it’s quite nice to confirm that I still enjoy analysis in a more professional setting. As such, sometime after graduating with my BSE and (maybe) my MS, I am hoping to convert to working at this Northrop Grumman location full-time as a structural analyst. Eventually, though, I would love to transition to working as an analysis or design engineer for satellites instead of launch vehicles.
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Contributor: Christopher McCormick – Electrical Engineering Lead & Software Engineering Lead
Bio: Degree, why you’re involved with the Interplanetary Lab, other hobbies, dream career goal.
During Lightcube, I was finishing the last two years of my undergraduate in Electrical Engineering. Now I am finishing my Masters of Electrical Engineering with a Focus on Microwave circuits. I was a Lab Manager/Lab Engineer from Fall 2020 up to Spring 2023 and now just mentor the lab as needed. During my tenure I worked on a variety of projects such as ADCS Testbed, Ground Station Development and even just general lab server maintenance. Effectively, if the project had software or electrical engineering needs I was often involved. My hobbies are quite similar to my work as I develop custom electronics on the side.
What was your role in the mission’s objectives?
I was the Lead Programmer and Lead of Electrical Engineering Integration for Lightcube. My job was to integrate all of the different components on the satellite from an electrical engineering and software development perspective. That statement makes it seem more straight forward than it actually is as integration is always where problems occur. Specifically, a great portion of my time was spent trying to make the Payload and RF Communication on the satellite to work since those were critical items on the satellite and were extremely temperamental to get working.
Was the mission considered a success to you? Why or why not?
In terms of having the core payload being available to the public, no. In terms of proving the potential of the Lab to produce Cubesats, yes. The Lab gained a lot of valuable information and skills from building this satellite. We demonstrated that we can perform industry comparable environmental testing (specifically Vibration and Vacuum testing), design and manufacture all parts on the satellite bus and eventually deliver a satellite. It was a difficult project but the end result was still fruitful even if not a complete success. To me at the very least, one of the biggest successes was hearing Lightcube send a packet at 9am in the morning right after launch. Everything else was just icing on the cake.
Reflecting on your experience and your role on the team, what was the most valuable skill, concept, or perspective you gained from your time on this project personally and as a future professional in the aerospace industry?
Electrical Magnetic Interference is everywhere and can be difficult to pinpoint. Due to one component on the satellite being a high EMI emitter and another component being very sensitive to EMI this was a constant issue that plagued the satellite. If there was nothing else I learned, it was that EMI is not an easy concept to deal with and can come from any source (such as a Computer Monitor that caused issues during testing).
What are your future goals after you finish your academic career?
Currently I am working at General Dynamics Missions Systems as a RF Design Engineer but once I finish my Masters in Electrical Engineering I would like to produce Microwave Electronics for Cubesats on a commercial level.
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Contributor: Chandler Hutchens – Testing Engineer
Bio: Degree, why you’re involved with the Interplanetary Lab, other hobbies, dream career goal.
I have been a Lab Manager/Lab Engineer since Fall 2020 and my main responsibilities were refurbishing a high-altitude vacuum chamber into a thermal vacuum chamber for CubeSats. During Lightcube, I was a Junior and Senior Aerospace Engineering student. My hobbies are hiking, video games, and flying airplanes!
What was the purpose of this spacecraft and its mission? Is it still operational?
Lightcube was an interesting mission because its main mission was centered around outreach. The spacecraft had a xenon flash tube, which could be triggered by remote control. Anyone with a HAMradio license would be able to ping the satellite and see a flash response in space! The purpose was to educate students, teachers, and community members about radio communication, satellite operations, and overall interest in CubeSats. Additionally, the satellite was designed and built by students at Arizona State University and CETYS Universidad! The spacecraft was successfully deployed and turned on. Data was collected from several ground stations around the world and we achieved our primary mission of outreach. The spacecraft did not last as long as hoped for and is no longer operational.
What was your role in the mission’s objectives?
I played a small role in the overall mission, but I was able to see the progression from CSLI (Cubesat Launch Initiative) acceptance to launch. As the testing engineer, I oversaw and conducted the vacuum tests, and worked on the gravity gradient stabilization for the satellite. Unfortunately, the gravity gradient was cut after unsuccessfully passing a vibration test but it was very interesting to work on such a complicated system.
Was the mission considered a success? Why or why not?
Overall, I would consider Lightcube a successful mission because so many students were able to learn about the electrical, mechanical, and environmental aspects of spacecraft design. From beginning to end it was the work of dozens of students in working long hours. In the end, the team was able to deliver on time and be successfully deployed from the ISS (International Space Station)! Although Lightcube ended up dying early, it was able to turn on and demonstrate the hard work of a multitude of students.
Reflecting on your experience and your role on the team, what was the most valuable skill, concept, or perspective you gained from your time on this project personally and as a future professional in the aerospace industry?
Lightcube was my first experience with reporting testing plans and results for a variety of people. This experience allowed me to learn about how to effectively display results and information for a quick read, and give a detailed analysis for issues or events that would happen. For the gravity gradient, I was able to learn about a variety of deployment methods such as burn resisters and springs. Along with becoming more confident in soldering and epoxy coating. In terms of project management, I learned about purchasing time, flight preparation, and flight hardware handling. This experience led to an upgrade in my overall understanding of space systems engineering and undoubtedly led to my internship with Northrop Grumman.
What are your future goals after you finish your academic career?
Upon graduating with my Masters in Aerospace Engineering in Spring 2024, I will be accepting a position with Northrop Grumman as a Space Systems Engineer. I plan on working as a Systems Engineer, gaining flight hours, and applying to be an astronaut!
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Interested in joining a team that will allow you to send spacecraft you worked on to space? The Interplanetary Lab (IPL) is hiring. We’re looking for ASU students who want to design and build small spacecraft with ASU faculty and external companies and students interested in developing and operating the IPL space environmental testing equipment. ASU undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. Click here for more information.