New capability for in-orbit satellite upgrade and servicing
Engineering360 News Desk | August 12, 2021Lockheed Martin’s In-space Upgrade Satellite System (LINUSS) has completed environmental testing and is ready for launch later this year, demonstrating how small CubeSats can regularly upgrade satellite constellations to add timely new capabilities and extend spacecraft design lives.
LINUSS is a pair of LM 50 12U CubeSats — each about the size of a four-slice toaster — designed to demonstrate how small satellites can serve an essential role in sustaining critical space architectures in any orbit. Developed using internal funding, LINUSS will be two of the most capable CubeSats in geosynchronous Earth orbit.
The CubeSats will demonstrate in-orbit satellite upgrade and servicing capabilities. Source: Lockheed Martin
LINUSS’ mission is to validate essential maneuvering capabilities for Lockheed Martin’s future space upgrade and servicing missions, as well as to showcase miniaturized space domain awareness capabilities. A major goal is supporting upgradeable LM 2100 satellite bus platforms, starting with GPS IIIF Space Vehicle 13. LINUSS also will demonstrate mature new onboard high-performance processing by Innoflight; low-toxicity propulsion by VACCO; and inertial measurement units, machine vision, 3D printed components and SmartSat (transformational on-orbit software upgrade architecture) technologies by Lockheed Martin.
The platform reportedly has higher bus density, payload accommodation, and on-orbit processing than other CubeSats. Both LINUSS spacecraft — measuring roughly 8 inches x 8 inches x 12 inches — are the collaborative integration of the company’s mission electro-optical payload deck with a next-generation 12U bus from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a Terran Orbital Company.