The mission
SMART-QSO would ride a SpaceX Transporter rideshare to a 475 km sun-synchronous orbit, serve amateur radio operators for 2 years, then passivate and decay. This page follows it from the dispenser to re-entry. It is a plan: no launch is contracted and nothing has been built. Concept of operations
The launch chain
As traced by the CDR 2026 design review. The planning date is the last Transporter flight of 2028, about 2028-11-01; June 2028 is an opportunity only, because it misses the integrator's protoflight milestone. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.1
| Step | Who | What (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Launch vehicle | SpaceX | Falcon 9, Transporter-class dedicated SSO rideshare from Vandenberg SLC-4E |
| Integrator | Exolaunch (lead RFQ; ISISPACE, SEOPS price checks; D-Orbit, Maverick one question each) | SpaceX's customer. SMART-QSO contracts with the integrator, not with SpaceX (docs/ORBITAL_ACCESS.md) |
| Dispenser | Exolaunch EXOpod Nova | A 1U in a 3U slot with a non-deployable adapter, or shared with other 1U/2U spacecraft; 1U limits 2.5 kg, CG ±20 mm |
| Contracting party | A legal entity, named by 2026-12-31 | Launch services agreement, FAA cross-waivers, insurance, export agreements |
| Contract | Signed by 2027-06-30, with the altitude clause | 475 km target, 485 km hard cap, no-penalty rebooking |
| Planning launch | The last Transporter of 2028 (about 2028-11-01) | June 2028 misses the integrator's protoflight milestone (§4) |
| Flight-model delivery | About L-50 d | To the integrator; final charge to 60 % ± 5 %, key load, ARM_FLIGHT, RBF out, integration into the Nova at L-47 d; no access afterwards |
| Orbit | 475 km circular SSO, LTAN 22:30 | FCC five-year rule with P ≥ 0.997 under the planned-end reading (ODAR Draft D); 460 km if an early failure ends the mission |
| Backup | ISS via Voyager NRCSD, 400–420 km | Contract needed 12 months before launch, so no earlier than about 2028-09 if triggered on 2027-09-30; design deltas in SQSO-LVR-001 §7 |
| Contingency | Rocket Lab Electron with a third-party dispenser | Export licence lead time 6+ months |
From the dispenser to re-entry
The concept of operations in plain language. Times after separation (S) come from the mission simulation and the pass analysis. Mission timeline §3–§7
L − 47 days
Into the dispenser
Final charge to 60 % at the integrator, key load, then into the EXOpod Nova. Unpowered from here: three deployment switches hold every circuit open, and nobody touches the spacecraft again. SQSO-BL-001 §4
Launch
Falcon 9 from Vandenberg
A Transporter-class rideshare to sun-synchronous orbit; the dispenser opens on the integrator's signal. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.1
S
Separation
The switches close and the flight computer boots. The 30-minute deployment wait and the 45-minute radio silence start counting. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
S + 120 s
Detumble starts
Nothing moves for the first 120 s (a launch-provider rule). Then the magnetorquers start slowing the spacecraft's tumble. SQSO-BL-001 §4
S + 30 min
Wings, then antennas
Burn resistors release the two solar wings, one resistor at a time. The antenna unit deploys next, but only once it reads −17 °C or warmer; after a cold eclipse separation it waits for the next 50-minute slot. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2, C-18
S + 45 min
First beacon
The radio silence ends and is latched. The receiver comes on and the first beacon goes out, in IDLE mode with template text every 120 s, once the antennas are out. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
S + ≈ 1 h
Sun pointing
Detumbled, the spacecraft spins at 8°/s about the axis that faces its wings to the Sun. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
S + 0.7–13.7 h
First contact
The first pass over the San Francisco Bay Area comes 5.3 h after separation in the median case; the first commanding pass 6.4 h after it (at most 13.7 h). SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
Days 1–14
Commissioning
Authenticated telecommand checked from each station, TX-OFF proven, power and thermal characterised. Only then are the transponder and the Jetson released. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
2 years
Operations
The transponder opens only in sunlight, with the battery at 55 % or more, for at most 25 % of an orbit. The beacon runs every 60 to 180 s depending on the power mode. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
End of mission
Passivation
A two-step authenticated command permanently disconnects the battery charge path while the transmitter still reports, sends a final frame, then latches the transmitter off. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
≤ 5 years after
Re-entry
Natural decay with the wings deployed, within the FCC's five-year rule. There is no propulsion and no separate drag device. SQSO-REV-CDR-002 §3.2
The timeline as reviewed, minute by minute, with its evidence (CDR report §3.2)
| Time | Event | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| L-47 d to L | Unpowered in the Nova, three deployment switches held open; drain 7.8 µA typical, 13.8 µA worst with both tap ladders and supervision (limit 20 µA); SOC ≥ 54.5 % at separation after 47 days | LVR-071; EPS_BOARD_DESIGN G §6.6; EPS_DESIGN 2.5 |
| S (separation) | Switches close; the OBC boots; EXOpod ejection 1.10–1.48 m/s, tip-off < 10°/s per axis | LV analysis |
| S + 0–120 s | No actuation (UG v11 §3.3.4); timers running | SRS-F086; SIL first coil command at 121 s |
| S + 120 s | B-dot detumble starts (magnetometer sampled 50 ms after a 900 ms coil burst) | ADCS_DESIGN 1.5 |
| S + 30 min | Wings deployed (one resistor at a time on four independent 0.8 A lines, 10 s each (C-17); the second resistor of a wing only if the first fails); 33 % of cases burn in eclipse. Then the AntS, only once its own temperature reads ≥ −17 °C (C-18): otherwise deferred 50 min at a time; after 30 deferrals, or 3 unreadable temperatures, it releases after 20 min of continuous sun | SIL: wings 30.2 min, AntS 30.6 min (warm separation); eclipse separation deferred once, AntS 80.7 min; cap case 25.8 h, unreadable case 2.3 h (THERMAL_ANALYSIS 2.4 §4.4: gate open within 69–177 min nominally) |
| S + 45 min | RF silence ends and is latched; receiver on; first beacon in IDLE (template, 120 s) if the AntS is out, otherwise when it deploys (C-19: no transmission into stowed elements; a failed AntS sequence still gets its stowed-antenna beacon) | SIL 45.0 min; eclipse separation 81.2 min, 0 VSWR stops |
| S + ≈ 1 h | Detumbled; spin-stabilized sun pointing of +Y at 8°/s; one wing: preset 0 until the ground identifies the wing (C-21) | SIL 0.2 h; Monte Carlo slowest capture 1.8 h (tip-off σ 10°/s, up to 30°/s; 1.7 h with the BMI088 at the 0.2°/s SYS-404 limit) |
| S + 0.7–13.7 h | First pass over the Bay Area (median 5.3 h, at most 12.1 h); first commanding pass median 6.4 h (at most 13.7 h) | MISSION_TIMELINE 2.6 |
| ≤ 24 h after first contact | First operator ephemeris from the onboard GNSS fixes | UG v11 §9.5.7.2 |
| Day 1–14 | Commissioning: telecommand checkout from each station, TX-OFF proven, housekeeping dump, power and thermal characterised, then COMMISSIONING_RELEASE; transponder and Jetson only after the release | docs/operations/COMMISSIONING_PLAN.md; SIL release at day 1.5 |
| ≤ 30 d | Object claimed with the 18th SDS | REG-015 |
| 2 years | Operations: transponder duty-gated (sunlit, SOC ≥ 55 %, ≤ 25 % of an orbit) | SIL full mission |
| End of mission | Two-step passivation command early in a sunlit pass: arm (operational key), execute (recovery key); the one-shot charge disconnect fires while the transmitter still reports, a final frame carries the disconnect and fuse state, then TX-OFF is latched | ICD-013 §6.4; END_OF_LIFE_PLAN |
| ≤ 5 years after | Re-entry by natural decay with the wings deployed | ODAR Draft D §6 (4.8–5.7 years after deployment at 475 km, nominal and conservative); the SIL's simpler decay gives 4.55 years (SQSO-SIL-001 G §7; SE-20) |
Mission phases
| Phase | From | To | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery and integration | Flight model at the integrator (≈ L-50 d) | Door closed in the EXOpod Nova (≈ L-47 d) | ≈ 3 days |
| Storage and launch campaign | Integration | Liftoff | ≈ 47 days planned; the design tolerates 9.4 months to the 40 % floor at a 50 µA drain (§3) |
| Launch and ascent | Liftoff | Separation from the dispenser | ≈ 1–3 h (deploy order) |
| LEOP | Separation (S) | First authenticated command executed and TX-OFF proven | S to ≈ S+1 d |
| Commissioning | LEOP end | Commissioning review, SET_CONTACT_TIMEOUT 14 days | Days 1–14 |
| Primary operations | Day 14 | 2 years (design life); minimum 12 months | |
| End of life | Day 730 | Passivation (TX-OFF, charge path cut; docs/operations/END_OF_LIFE_PLAN.md §3); re-entry within 5 years of mission end (ODAR Draft D §6.2: 2.8–3.7 years after it from 475 km, 4.8–5.7 years after deployment, which governs; the mission simulation's decay model, SIL G: 2.55 years after it, 4.55 years after deployment, docs/test/SIL_MISSION_SIMULATION.md §7) |
Operating modes
The flight computer moves between modes on the battery's state of charge, sunlight, temperature and the watchdog; faults drop to SAFE, and TX-OFF and the loss-of-contact inhibit override every mode. CONOPS.md §3
- Launch‑Safe: inhibits armed; radio unpowered; awaiting deployer release
- Commissioning hold: from separation until released by an authenticated command; IDLE at most, no transponder, no Jetson
- Boot/Detumble: attitude control to reduce rates; minimal housekeeping; beacon only after the RF silence
- SAFE: lowest power; template beacon every 180 s; no transponder, no Jetson
- IDLE: beacon every 120 s; Jetson suspended; transponder only if the power gates allow
- ACTIVE: beacon every 60 s; transponder windows and Jetson bursts permitted within the gates of §5
- EMERGENCY: below 15 % SOC; beacon shed; receiver stays on
Fail-graceful by design
The Jetson is power-gated and used only in short bursts in sunlight. If it is off, faulty, or its text fails the content filter, the beacon uses a template and the transponder runs on fixed rules. CONOPS.md §5
The road to launch
Milestones from the integrated master schedule (SQSO-SCH-001 version E), a planning baseline from a critical-path model: no vendor quote, laboratory booking, integrator schedule or funding commitment exists yet. SQSO-SCH-001 §4
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| VI-RFB-12 complete (RF layout input) | 2026-11-13 |
| PDR board named (DA-03) | 2026-12-01 |
| DAS agreement requested; ISIS AntS RFQ | 2026-11-06 |
| FCC consultation requested | 2026-11-15 |
| NASA DAS run; ODAR Draft E (DA-06) | 2027-01-08; 2027-01-12 |
| Contracting legal entity (DP-1); integrator RFQs out | 2026-12-22; 2026-12-29 |
| Board firmware requirements complete (SQSO-SRS-TNC-001, SQSO-SRS-EPSC-001) | 2026-10-27 |
| Board firmware designs in the PDR package | 2026-12-08 |
| PDR | 2027-01-12 |
| Early FCC pre-space notification | 2027-01-19 |
| IARU request | 2027-01-26 |
| EM layout released | 2027-04-27 |
| IARU coordination letter (90th percentile) | by 2027-05-18 |
| Launch contract (deadline 2027-06-30); integrator ICD | 2027-05-31 |
| EM boards assembled | 2027-06-01 |
| Board firmware integrated on the EM boards (TNC, EPS controller) | 2027-07-06 |
| EM integrated, flight software running on the target | 2027-07-27 |
| 500 h on the EM boards (reliability programme) | 2027-08-24 |
| CDR | 2027-09-28 |
| FM integration start | 2027-12-21 |
| Board firmware flight builds qualified on the FM boards | 2027-12-28 |
| FM burn-in (≥ 200 h) | 2028-02-22 to 2028-03-03 |
| Protoflight campaign | 2028-03-03 to 2028-04-21 |
| Environmental verification report | 2028-04-28 (due 2028-07-17) |
| Pre-ship review; delivery | 2028-05-19 (earliest; required 2028-09-12) |
| Launch | 2028-11-01 planning date; June 2028 not achievable on this plan |