Assembly, integration, and testing of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)

Logan Jensen; John Gamaunt; Paul Scowen; Nathaniel Struebel; Liam O'Mara; Neil Naik; David Ardila; Jim Austin; Travis Barman; Christophe Basset; Matthew Beasley; Lee Bernard; Judd Bowman; Nathaniel Butler; Dawn Gregory; April Jewell; Mary Knapp; Daniel Jacobs; Matthew Kolopanis; Cristy Ladwig; Joe Llama; Victoria Meadows; Shouleh Nikzad; Sarah Peacock; Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa; Titu Samson; Evgenya Shkolnik; Mark Swain; Todd Veach

doi:10.1117/12.3018163

21 August 2024 Assembly, integration, and testing of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)

Logan Jensen, John Gamaunt, Paul Scowen, Nathaniel Struebel, Liam O'Mara, Neil Naik, David Ardila, Jim Austin, Travis Barman, Christophe Basset, Matthew Beasley, Lee Bernard, Judd Bowman, Nathaniel Butler, Dawn Gregory, April Jewell, Mary Knapp, Daniel Jacobs, Matthew Kolopanis, Cristy Ladwig, Joe Llama, Victoria Meadows, Shouleh Nikzad, Sarah Peacock, Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa, Titu Samson, Evgenya Shkolnik, Mark Swain, Todd Veach

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13093, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 1309337 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018163
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

We discuss the final assembly, integration, and testing of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat. SPARCS is a 6U CubeSat mission designed to monitor the dual-channel, far-UV (153-176 nm) and near-UV (258-308 nm) photometric activity of nearby low mass stars to advance our understanding of their evolution, activity, and the habitability of surrounding exoplanets. This paper details the assembly of the SPARCS instrument and the testing process to characterize and validate the performance of the payload prior to spacecraft integration. To test SPARCS, we have established a customized CubeSat AIT laboratory and thermal vacuum chamber at ASU equipped to handle CubeSats requiring meticulous contamination control for work in the FUV. After a brief overview of these facilities and the testing plan, we will detail the methods and data used to verify the performance of SPARCS and generate calibration products to reduce raw flight data to high-quality science products. The result will be the delivery of the first highly sensitive FUV astrophysics CubeSat which will inform exoplanet environments and future observations of these systems by facilities like the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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Logan Jensen, John Gamaunt, Paul Scowen, Nathaniel Struebel, Liam O'Mara, Neil Naik, David Ardila, Jim Austin, Travis Barman, Christophe Basset, Matthew Beasley, Lee Bernard, Judd Bowman, Nathaniel Butler, Dawn Gregory, April Jewell, Mary Knapp, Daniel Jacobs, Matthew Kolopanis, Cristy Ladwig, Joe Llama, Victoria Meadows, Shouleh Nikzad, Sarah Peacock, Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa, Titu Samson, Evgenya Shkolnik, Mark Swain, and Todd Veach "Assembly, integration, and testing of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)", Proc. SPIE 13093, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 1309337 (21 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018163

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