We present all aspects of the development of a ½U laser guide star CubeSat payload.The payload, AMS Beacon, was integrated into the Agile Microsat (AMS) 6U platform developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory and will function as a space-based point source reference for high-angle-rate adaptive optics (AO) control. In addition to a 500-mW onboard laser, it carries a retro-reflector and a photodiode (PD) with a 1 kHz readout. The system, launched successfully in May 2022 into low-Earth orbit, utilizes commercial components, fixed optics, and highprecision body-pointing enabled by a bus-provided GPS receiver, among other innovations, to keep the design compact and the costs low. To our knowledge, it is the first payload to be built as a test platform for high-angle-rate AO on orbital targets. The system architecture offers opportunities for future cost reductions and a strong foundation for payload proliferation across multiple satellites. The capabilities of the host spacecraft combined with the Beacon payload can also serve as a roadmap for integrating thrusting capabilities with an artificial guidestar, which would be critical in enabling various astronomical applications.
Orientation and stacking of parts has been mostly based on their external features. There are a number of parts which need to be oriented and stacked based on internal features, either because internal features are of primary importance or because oflack of appropriate external features. Issues concerning the orientation and stacking ofparts based on their internal features are investigated and two-dimensional axi-symmetrical parts have been classified into groups based on both internal and external features. Fundamental methodologies have been developed for orienting and stacking of parts based on internal features and experimental verification has been performed for many cases. Results indicate that parts can be oriented efficiently and at high speeds. In addition, it can be concluded from these experiments that in many cases, the widely accepted rule that orientarional position of parts should be preserved does not necessarily hold.
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