Slingshot-1

Advance on-orbit experiments using modular and autonomous technologies on next-generation satellite systems with SatCat5.

Program named Slingshot, which looks to advance on-orbit experiments using modular and autonomous technologies on next-generation satellite systems. In essence, Slingshot looks to simplify the architecture with open standards and plug-and-play interfaces to streamline bus-to-payload, satellite-to-satellite, and space-to-ground communications.

A key feature of the Slingshot platform is the use of SatCat5, an open source mixed-media ethernet switch architecture that enables a variety of devices to communicate on the same network. Unlike other existing standards, such as CAN and SpaceWire, SatCat5 is able to simultaneously provide high throughput and low-power consumption using ethernet technologies and an end-to-end payload development kit.

Slingshot also uses one common bus-to-payload interface, providing a reusable standard that can eliminate the ad-hoc proliferation of complex, dissimilar protocols that have historically bogged down connectivity and driven up costs.

Slated for launch in early 2022, the Slingshot 1 mission aims to prove the feasibility of providing a standard interface for multiple payloads on a single spacecraft flying in low Earth orbit. In addition to providing access to an on-orbit space test environment, the mission will demonstrate the capability of the SatCat5 ethernet standard, which would allow developers to employ commercial tools and open-source code from the extensive ethernet ecosystem.

In a further bid for increased satellite autonomy, the Slingshot 1 mission will also test the functionality of:

• VERTIGO – A modular attitude control system prototype that can enable satellites to point at targets on earth.
• BLINKER – A GPS transponder for space traffic management.
• HYPER – A hydrogen peroxide thruster.
• LASERCOMM – A next-generation space/ground lasercom downlink.

• PLATFORM - Blue Canyon