Development of Picosatellites’ Experimental Models and a Multi-Device Deployment System for Group Flight Testing in Atmospheric Conditions

Multi-satellite orbital constellations enable transition from single, expensive spacecraft to unified platforms whose aggregate characteristics: global coverage, high reliability and resolution, ability to execute targeted tasks in parallel, flexibility, and scalability – significantly exceed capabilities of a single satellite. However lack of solutions for testing controlled deployment technologies for multi-spacecraft systems necessitates creation of an experimental framework with a step-by-step transition from ground tests to atmospheric and full-fledged orbital missions. This paper presents an architecture and experimental flight models of picosatellite-class spacecraft equipped with a deployment system designed to establish a short-duration probe constellation within the atmospheric flight environment. The developed platforms serve as a testbed for atmospheric experiments, with a primary focus on the validation of technologies for orbital formation flying missions. A launch adapter is implemented as a modular deployer unit featuring a hybrid springmotor separation mechanism capable of releasing two picosatellites in sequence. A portable ground receiving station with support for LoRa and FSK modulation schemes has been developed as part of the system. The paper provides a detailed description of the structural design solutions and fundamental circuit engineering approaches, and presents results of flight testing that demonstrate the applicability of the developed complex to atmospheric monitoring tasks and orbital mission design.

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