MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agile MicroSat Early Operations

MIT Lincoln Laboratory, in collaboration with Blue Canyon Technologies LLC and Enpulsion GmbH, has developed the Agile MicroSat (AMS) as the first nanosatellite with suitable agility to reliably maneuver and maintain low altitude. Lower altitude operation allows higher resolution for a given optical sensing aperture. Spacecraft agility provides the opportunity for Earth remote sensing techniques for observing transient, unpredictable Earth scenes such as agricultural or ecological stress, fire smoke plumes, coastal and riverine flooding and oil spills. AMS uses an indium field effect electric propulsion thruster with thrust vector control to implement its orbital maneuvers. AMS has implemented advanced satellite control techniques including momentum management during thrusting, low drag attitude control, and critical fault response in low altitude/high drag conditions. AMS will validate increasingly sophisticated and demanding guidance techniques, progressing from manual ground control to automated on-board guidance as confidence is gained. AMS was launched on SpaceX's Transporter 5 mission on May 25th, 2022. The AMS Camera payload will collect reflected sunlight imagery of local regions of interest cued by mission operations. The AMS Beacon payload provides a near infrared laser transmitter as an artificial phase reference to demonstrate ground based adaptive optics. When reaching low altitude, AMS will maneuver into repeating satellite ground track orbit on demand to operate two optical payloads. This paper describes the early mission operations.