{"502861":{"#nid":"502861","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Prof. Brian Gunter: Hitching a Ride with Google Skybox","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen the opportunity to launch is offered, you have to be ready to act. Just ask GT-AE professor\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Brian Gunter.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJust a few months ago, in May, his Ranging And Nanosatellite Guidance Experiment (RANGE) cubesat proposal was approved\u0026nbsp; through the Skybox University Cubesat Partnership. Now, it\u0027s in the design stages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The current schedule requires that the RANGE satellites be flight-ready by 2016,\u0022 said Gunter.\u0026nbsp; \u0022That means we\u0027ll have just one year to go from concept to launch.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECan it be done?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Yes, but it will no doubt be challenging,\u0022 says Gunter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are already deep into the design phase, and we will start assembly and testing in the spring. We have a talented group of students working hard to make sure we meet our deadlines.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe RANGE mission will consist of two cubesats, measuring 10x10x15 cm, that will fly in a leader-follower formation. The on-board instrumentation will include state-of-the-art global positioning system (GPS) receivers, linked to miniaturized atomic clocks, for precise orbit determination. The relative positions of the satellites will be measured using a compact inter-satellite laser ranging system that will also double as a laser communications system. Corner cube reflectors will allow the absolute and relative position estimates to be verified using ground-based satellite laser ranging (SLR) measurements provided by the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our goal is to have at least one set of coincident ground-based satellite laser ranging, high-rate GPS, and inter-satellite laser ranging measurements,\u0022 said Gunter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If we can achieve that, even if this happens within the first week of operations, then we will consider the mission a success.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe mission seeks to validate technology that, among other things, has the potential to both track cubesat orbits down to mere centimeters, and to measure the relative distance between the satellites down to millimeters, Gunter said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We believe the results from this mission will push the limits of positioning accuracy for cubesats, and has to potential to enable a host of new mission concepts that can change how we gather information from space, to include imagery, topography, time-variable gravity, and much more,\u0022 Gunter pointed out.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In the future, we could deploy tens or hundreds of these satellites around Earth or other planets to create orbiting sensor networks that could gather near real-time global observations, and have the satellites be able to communicate with each other.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGunter intends for the RANGE mission to serve primarily as a demonstration of new technologies, and he is already eying follow-up research projects after RANGE\u0027s launch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u2019re grateful for getting a launch slot, since these are hard to get, and it\u2019s exciting to think that what we\u2019re developing will soon fly in space.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to a team of 23 undergraduate and graduate researchers, Gunter will collaborate with GT-AE professors Robert Braun and Glenn Lightsey, as well as GTRI\u0027s\u0026nbsp; Grady Tuell and his research group.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When the opportunity to launch is offered, you have to be ready to act. Just ask GT-AE professor Brian Gunter."}],"uid":"30502","created_gmt":"2016-02-18 12:32:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:49","author":"Sapna Mistry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"502851":{"id":"502851","type":"image","title":"Brian Gunter","body":null,"created":"1456167600","gmt_created":"2016-02-22 19:00:00","changed":"1475895263","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:23","alt":"Brian Gunter","file":{"fid":"204764","name":"gunter-brian1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gunter-brian1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gunter-brian1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24372,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gunter-brian1_0.jpg?itok=aaXj7hek"}}},"media_ids":["502851"],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"133281","name":"Brian Gunter"},{"id":"171744","name":"Google Skybox"},{"id":"126111","name":"GT-AE"},{"id":"168739","name":"RANGE"},{"id":"171745","name":"Skybox Univeristy Cubesat Partnership"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kathleen.moore@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}