公开(公告)号：US20240262538A1

公开(公告)日：2024-08-08

申请号：US18558021

申请日：2022-05-03

Applicant: Kerri Cahoy ,  Christian Haughwout ,  Paul Serra ,  Ruonan HAN ,  Anantha CHANDRAKASAN ,  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Inventor： Kerri Cahoy ,  Christian Haughwout ,  Paul Serra ,  Ruonan HAN ,  Anantha CHANDRAKASAN

IPC: B64G3/00 ,  B64G1/10 ,  G01S5/16 ,  G01S17/74

CPC classification number: B64G3/00 ,  B64G1/1085 ,  G01S1/70 ,  G01S5/16 ,  B64G1/44 ,  G01S17/74

Abstract: Femto-satellites are very small satellites that can be deployed in constellations from a larger mothership satellite for distributed measurement. They are too small to accommodate the GNSS receivers that many satellites use for navigation, but they can be located with an electromagnetic beam from the mothership satellite. The mothership satellite scans this beam across a constellation of femto-satellites. When the beam scans across a particular femto-satellite, the femto-satellite transmits an acknowledgement to the mothership satellite, e.g., by retroreflecting the beam or via a separate radio link. The beam can be modulated with commands for the femto-satellite, such as to make a measurement or transmit previously acquired data, as well with commands for determining the femto-satellite's location, such as a time stamp or beam pointing information. The femto-satellite can determine its location from the information modulated onto the beam or transmit the time stamp to the mothership satellite for localization.

公开(公告)号：US20250074629A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-06

申请号：US18951856

申请日：2024-11-19

Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Inventor： Kerri Cahoy ,  Christian Haughwout ,  Paul Serra ,  Ruonan HAN ,  Anantha CHANDRAKASAN

IPC: B64G3/00 ,  B64G1/10 ,  B64G1/44 ,  G01S1/70 ,  G01S5/16 ,  G01S17/74

Abstract: Femto-satellites are very small satellites that can be deployed in constellations from a larger mothership satellite for distributed measurement. They are too small to accommodate the GNSS receivers that many satellites use for navigation, but they can be located with an electromagnetic beam from the mothership satellite. The mothership satellite scans this beam across a constellation of femto-satellites. When the beam scans across a particular femto-satellite, the femto-satellite transmits an acknowledgement to the mothership satellite, e.g., by retroreflecting the beam or via a separate radio link. The beam can be modulated with commands for the femto-satellite, such as to make a measurement or transmit previously acquired data, as well with commands for determining the femto-satellite's location, such as a time stamp or beam pointing information. The femto-satellite can determine its location from the information modulated onto the beam or transmit the time stamp to the mothership satellite for localization.