![]() The Seeker spacecraft (lower left) and the Kenobi communications relay | |
Manufacturer | NASA |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Operator | NASA |
Applications | in-space inspection |
Specifications | |
Spacecraft type | Automated free-flying inspector |
Bus | custom 3U |
Dry mass | ~4kg[1] |
Dimensions | 30cm x 10cm x 10cm[1] |
Design life | ~40 minute mission[1] |
Production | |
Status | mission complete |
On order | 0 |
Built | 1 |
Launched | 1 |
Operational | 0 |
Lost | 0 |
Maiden launch | 17 April 2019 |
Last launch | 17 April 2019 |
Related spacecraft | |
Derived from | Mini AERCam |
Flown with | Cygnus |
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Seeker is a NASA CubeSat intended to demonstrate ultra-low cost in-space inspection capability. Taken from design to delivery from late 2017 to early 2019, Seeker was launched on board the Cygnus NG-11 mission. Seeker deployed and operated around Cygnus on September 16, 2019.[2]
The Seeker free-flyer is a 3U CubeSat, approximately 30cm by 10cm by 10cm and weighing 4kg. It uses a cold-gas propulsion system with additively manufactured components, GPS, laser rangefinder, neural networks to drive a vision-based navigation system, Wi-Fi communication, and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts wherever possible. The spacecraft is paired with a communications relay, called Kenobi, that provides an interface to the Cygnus vehicle. The spacecraft is design to be as automated as possible, requiring minimal input from the ground in order to complete its mock inspection mission.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Seeker's flight software (FSW) is run on a CHREC Space Processor. An Intel Joule is used for the computationally-intensive vision-based navigation algorithms. Seeker's propulsion system is controlled by a custom, FPGA-based board and power is provided to the system from GomSpace NanoPower BP4 batteries.[1]
The Seeker vehicle contained a small 6 – Degree of Freedom, cold gas nitrogen based cubesat propulsion system. The propulsion system is approximately 1.25U in size and contains 12 0.1 N thrusters. The system contained a small titanium pressure vessel and was capable of providing approximately 5 m/s DV.[9]
In an effort to minimize mass, optimize packing, and substantial reductions in iteration time between designs, a significant effort was undertaken to utilize additive manufacturing (AM) technology as part of the Seeker propulsion system. The certified AM thrusters were the first known additively manufactured (AM) pressurized plastic components which are designed to meet or exceed NASA standards and are certified for pressurized ground and flight use around operators.[10]