TechEdSat 15 (TES 15)

TechEdSat 15 (TES 15) [NASA]

The TechEdSat 15 (TES 15) is a 3U CubeSat from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, which will be used to test several technologies.

This three-unit CubeSat weighs 9.1 pounds and carries experiments that are being advanced in TechEdSat’s Nano-Orbital Workshop (NOW) rapid flight development series.

TechEdSat-15’s primary experiment is a version of an exo-brake intended to survive much higher temperature environments – several hundred degrees – than in previous flights. It will demonstrate the next step forward in nanosatellites’ ability to target an Earth entry point. The exo-brake is a device that applies drag in Earth’s exosphere – the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere – to slow the speed of a satellite’s descent and change its direction. This experiment will permit the satellite to survive closer-to-peak heating, maintain telemetry, and assess the dynamics as the system enters the top of the atmosphere.

Another experiment on TechEdSat-15 includes the Beacon And Memory Board Interface (BAMBI), which optimizes internal and external data transfer from the nanosatellite.

The TechEdSat-NOW series has multiple research goals including using the exo-brake to de-orbit high-altitude nanosatellites at end of mission to reduce issues related to orbital debris. Additionally, drag modulation has uses for sample return from low-Earth orbit as well as tailoring orbits during aero-pass maneuvers for future planetary applications. The TechEdSat-15 project is managed by Ames and funded by the Ames Engineering Directorate. TechEdSat-15 partners include San Jose State University.

TechEdSat-15 was launched on the second Firefly-Alpha (Block 1) rocket and reached orbit, although lower than planned.