The GOLDS satellite constellation: preparatory works for a model-based performability analysis

The Global Open Collection Data System (GOLDS) is an initiative that aims to create an open constellation of CubeSat satellites for educational purpose on environmental data collection. Our objective is to quantify some performance metrics of GOLDS in the presence of failures, i.e., to analyze its performability. In this early-research work, after providing a description of the system, we give an overview of the main aspects of the system that must be considered for performance analysis, and we provide a more detailed view of the possible failures that might affect the satellites of the GOLDS constellation. These activities constitute a preparatory work for defining a comprehensive model-based approach for analyzing the performability of GOLDS in an end-to-end scenario.