• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2021

Based on the requirements of a total weight of 42 kg or less, the NEXTSat-2 SAR (synthetic aperture radar) system was developed. As the NEXTSat-2 is a small-sized satellite, the SAR system was designed to account for about 40% of the dry mass of the payload relative to the total mass. Among the major components of the SAR system - which are an antenna, an RF transceiver, a baseband signal processor, and a power unit - a part with a particularly large dry mass is the antenna, the core of the SAR system. Whereas various selections are possible in consideration of gain and efficiency when designing the antenna, the micro-strip patch array antenna was adopted by reflecting the dry mass, power, and resolution required by the NEXTSat-2 project. In order to meet the mission requirement of the NEXTSat-2, the antenna was developed with a frequency of 9.65 GHz, a gain of 42.7 dBi, and a return loss of -15 dB. The performance of the antenna was verified by conducting a field test onboard the vehicle.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.55.2-55.2
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• 2015

NISS is a unique spaceborne imaging spectrometer (R = 20) onboard the Korea's next micro-satellite NEXTSat-1 to investigate the star formation history of Universe in near infrared wavelength region (0.9 - 3.8 um), with a customized H1RG IR sensor(Jeong 2014). In this paper, we will introduce the compact electronics system (Fig. 1) as well as the novel readout method to reduce the 1/f noise for NISS.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2024

This paper describes the design and development of a transmit receiver module(TRM) for mounting on X-band SAR of the NEXTSat-2. The TRM generates the chirp signal with required bandwidth through the DDS in X-band and performs frequency conversion, combination for the signal to transmit and be received and frequency synthesis. Tx path of the TRM produces signals of total 28 bandwidths up to 96.8 MHz and has output signal level of more than + 9.37 dBm. Rx path of the TRM has minimum noise figure of 15.7 dB. The measurement results show that required requirements are satisfied. The TRM is installed on the NEXTSat-2 flight model(FM), launched by KSLV-II(Nuri) on May 23, 2023 and currently operational.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2014

The next generation small satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1) program has been kicked off in 2012, and it will be launched in 2016 for the science missions and the verification of space core technologies. The payloads for these science missions are the Instrument for the Study of Space Storms (ISSS) and NIR Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history (NISS). The ISSS and the NISS have been developed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Korea Astronomy and Space science Institute (KASI) respectively. The ISSS detects plasma densities and particle fluxes of 10 MeV energy range near the Earth and the NISS uses spectrometer. In order to verify the spacecraft core technologies in the space, the total of 7 space core technologies (SCT) will be applied to the NEXTSat-1 for space verification and those are under development. Thus, the operation modes for the ISSS and the NISS for space science missions and 7 SCTs for technology missions are analyzed for the required operation time during the NEXTSat-1's mission life time of 2 years. In this paper, the operational concept of the NEXTSat-1's science missions as well as the verification of space core technologies are presented considering constraints of volume, mass, and power after launch.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.487-495
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• 2022

This paper describes the design and development of a high-power transmit receive module(TRM) for mounting on X-band synthetic aperture radar(SAR) of the NEXTSat-2. The TRM generates a high-power pulse signal with a bandwidth of 100 MHz in the target frequency range of X-band and amplifies a low-noise on the received signal. Tx. path of the TRM has output signal level of more than 200 watts (53.01 dB), pulse droop of 0.35 dB, signal strength change of 0.04 dB during transmission signal output, and phase change of 1.7 ˚. Rx. path has noise figure of 3.99 dB and gain of 37.38 ~ 37.46 dB. It was confirmed the TRM satisfies all requirements. The TRM mounted on the NEXTSat-2 flight model(FM) which will be launched using the KSLV-II (Nuri).

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.112-119
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• 2016

NEXTSat-1 is the next-generation small-size artificial satellite system planed by the Satellite Technology Research Center(SatTReC) in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(KAIST). For the control of attitude and transition of the orbit, the system has adopted a RHM(Resisto-jet Head Module), which has a very simple geometry with a reasonable efficiency. An axisymmetric model is devised with two coil-resistance heaters using xenon(Xe) gas, and the minimum required specific impulse is 60 seconds under the thrust more than 30 milli-Newton. To design the module, seven basic parameters should be decided: the nozzle shape, the power distribution of heater, the pressure drop of filter, the diameter of nozzle throat, the slant length and the angle of nozzle, and the size of reservoir, etc. After quasi one-dimensional analysis, a theoretical value of specific impulse is calculated, and the optima of parameters are found out from the baseline with a series of multi-physical numerical simulations based on the compressible Navier-Stokes equations for gas and the heat conduction energy equation for solid. A commercial code, COMSOL Multiphysics is used for the computation with a FEM (finite element method) based numerical scheme. The final values of design parameters indicate 5.8% better performance than those of baseline design after the verification with all the tuned parameters. The present method should be effective to reduce the time cost of trial and error in the development of RHM, the thruster of NEXTSat-1.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.195-208
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• 2024

As human exploration goals shift from missions in low Earth orbit (LEO) to long-duration interplanetary missions, radiation protection remains one of the key technological issues that must be resolved. The low Earth orbit space radiation dosimeter (LEO-DOS) instrument to measure radiation levels and create a global dose map in the LEO on board the the next generation small satellite-2 (NEXTSat-2) was launched successfully on May 25, 2023 using the Nuri KSLV-III in Korea. The NEXTSat-2 orbits the Earth every 100 minutes, in an orbit with an inclination of 97.8° and an altitude of about 550 km above sea level. The LEO-DOS is equipped with a particle dosimeter (PD) and a neutron spectrometer (NS), which enable the measurement of dosimetric quantities such as absorbed dose (D), dose equivalent (H) for charged particles and neutrons. To verify the observations of LEO-DOS, we conducted a radiation dose estimation study based on the initial results of LEO-DOS, measured from June 2023 to September 2023. The study considered four source categories: (i) galactic cosmic ray particles; (ii) the South Atlantic Anomaly region of the inner radiation belt (IRB); (iii) relativistic electrons and/or bremsstrahlung in the outer radiation belt (ORB); and (iv) solar energetic particle (SEP) events.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.34-40
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• 2016

A satellite is exposed to various impact environment until orbit entry. It is particularly undergoing the biggest impact by pyro shock, which is generated when the launch vehicle stages are separated or the satellite is separated from the launch vehicle. In this paper, due to the fact that the pyro shock is prerequisite for performing the test and verification on the ground, we developed an air-gun type shock tester for NEXTSat-1 shock test at the KAIST SaTReC along with the development of program introduced by LabVIEW software. The program operated in shock tester is consist of data measurement and analysis with the convenient implementation of user interface and its easy modification of the code.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.10
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• pp.729-737
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• 2022

Melting and icing process of the PCMTCU(Phase Change Material Thermal Control Unit) installed on the NEXTSat-2, which is scheduled to be launched in the second half, was investigated through the results of satellite-level TVT(Thermal Vacuum Test). As a result of the test, it was confirmed that the latent heat of PCM contributes to the temperature stabilization of the heating components. The thermal model for numerical analysis of the PCMTCU was correlated to acquire a reasonable degree of accuracy using the collected temperature measurements during TVT. The periodic temperature variation of the PCMTCU in normal on-orbit operation was predicted with the correlated thermal model, and the quantitative contribution of the PCM on the thermal energy management was evaluated with the liquid fraction. It will receive flight telemetry from the NEXTSat-2 after the launch, and complete the space verification of the PCMTCU.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.58.2-58.2
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• 2016

The NISS (Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history) onboard NEXTSat-1 is the near-infrared instrument optimized to the first small satellite of NEXTSat series. The capability of both imaging and low spectral resolution spectroscopy with the Field of View of $2{\times}2deg.$ in the near-infrared range from 0.9 to $3.8{\mu}m$ is a unique function of the NISS. The major scientific mission is to study the cosmic star formation history in local and distant universe. The Flight Model of the NISS is being developed and tested. After an integration into NEXTSat-1, it will be tested under the space environment. The NISS will be launched in 2017 and it will be operated during 2 years. As an extension of the NISS, SPEHREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is the NASA SMEX (SMall EXploration) mission proposed together with KASI (PI Institute: Caltech). It will perform an all-sky near-infrared spectral survey to probe the origin of our Universe; explore the origin and evolution of galaxies, and explore whether planets around other stars could harbor life. The SPHEREx is designed to have wider FoV of $3.5{\times}7deg.$ as well as wider spectral range from 0.7 to $4.8{\mu}m$. After passing the first selection process, SPHEREx is under the Phase-A study. The final selection will be made in the end of 2016. Here, we report the current status of the NISS and SPHEREx missions.