Nepal's Danfe Space Mission: Technology Demonstration Mission on a 3U CubeSat to

Mitigate Glacial Lake Outburst Floods

Sirash Sayanju, Janardhan Silwal, Devraj Pant, Sagar Koirala, Bikalpa Dhungana, Abhas Maskey
Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal [Space Foundation Nepal]
Lazimpat, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal
sirash@antarikchya.org.np, +977-9860018220

Abstract Danfe Space Mission Overview PX4 Autopilot

The United Nations Development Program ranks Nepal as the fourth-most ❏ PX4 Mission is the demonstration of drone Operating System, PX4 Autopilot,
country susceptible to climate change. Global warming has caused more than with its COTS hardware, in space. This demonstration will be used to study the
40 Glacial lakes to potentially burst at any moment. A few Early Warning feasibility of using PX4 Autopilot to develop a generic CubeSat operating
Systems are in place but are connected by ground cellular networks. A system
ground-to-space monitoring system instead, can help deter Glacial Lake
❏ PX4 Mission uses an STM32F427 microcontroller as a core, where PX4
Outburst Flood reliably. This paper outlines such a system through Nepal's
Autopilot is loaded. PX4 Autopilot operates Motion Tracker, Inertial
Danfe Space Mission placed on a 3U CubeSat. Danfe demonstrates the first use
Measurement Unit (IMU), and Magnetometer to track the attitude of the
case of ported PX4 drone Operating System alongside a LoRa integrated
satellite
STM32 Satellite System-on-Chip. A Ground Sensor Terminal with ultrasonic
sensor and LoRa beacons glacier water level data to space. If the demonstration ❏ The PX4 Autopilot collects housekeeping and sensor data which is streamed,
is successful, future satellite constellations for monitoring glaciers can be via MAVLINK to the Main STM32
produced in a significantly shorter period as both hardware and software are Satellite System On Chip (SSoC)
drastically simplified. Such constellations can provide near-real time water
❏ SSoC Demonstration Mission objective verify performance of the novel
level data while inciting actions to prevent any impending flash floods.
STM32WL55JC System-on-Chip (SoC) with in-built radio in space. If SoC
Keywords: Glacial Lake, Nepal, Danfe Space Mission, PX4, LoRa, Satellite operates normally in space, it has potential to work as both the Onboard
SoC Computer and Communication System of CubeSat
❏ SSoC is a microcontroller using containing dual core processor with M0+ and
FIGURE 1: Block Diagram of Danfe Space Mission
Mission Objective M4 ARM Cortex, with in-built radio which supports GMSK, BPSK, GFSK, and
❏ Demonstration of CubeSat operating system using PX4 Autopilot operating LoRa Modulations with high receiver sensitivity.
system ❏ The two SSoC in Mission generates data, exchange data via on-board radio
❏ Demonstration of Satellite System-on-Chip as Onboard computer and transmission line and also uses UART for verification of exchanged data and to
Communication system using single STM32WL55JC calculate Packet Error Rate (PER).
❏ Store and forward using Ground Sensor Terminal for glacial lake water level
monitoring in the Himalayan region of Nepal Ground Sensor Terminal (GST)
❏ GLOF mission monitors and collects Glacial Lakes water level data to study the
changes happening over time to predict GLOF event ahead of time for disaster
Project Outline management
❏ Design, and build a mission payload for a 3U CubeSat, Multi Payload ❏ GST is used to monitor the lakes, which collects and uplinks data to satellite
CubeSat Platform (MPCP), to be launched within 2022 using LoRa.
❏ Collaboration with INSTED, Thailand and NAST, Government of Nepal ❏ The uplinked data is received by KITSUNE 6U Satellite, stored, and forwarded
promoting Science and Space Diplomacy to the Ground Station.
❏ Train and develop in-house space workforce and facilities in Nepal ❏ GST deployed in glacial lakes collects the environmental parameters and uplink
them using LoRa modulation in the UHF frequency band.
FIGURE 2: EM Board Top Side PX4 Autopilot Mission FIGURE 3: EM Board Bottom Side SSoC Mission
Problem Statement
STM32F427, PX4 Autopilot STM32WL55JCI7 Satellite System on
❏ Glaciers are delicate indicator of global warming, Glacial lakes are risky and Chip
Conclusion
can burst at any moment which can bring disaster to people and their belongings Nanosatellite Operating System
Ultra-Low Power Dual Core 32-bit
❏ Danfe Space Missin incorporates two technology demonstration mission: PX4
down the valley Modular System, Rapid
Prototyping ARM Cortex Autopilot mission and SSoC Demonstration Mission. Along with the usage of
❏ No modular CubeSat are available to quickly build, test and deploy for Glacial
Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) monitoring systems Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Radio on Chip:LoRa,GMSK, GFSK, GST for glacial lake monitoring and GLOF prediction.
Magnetometer BPSK modulation 22 dBm Tx
power/-123(-148 LoRa) dBm Rx ❏ These missions will produce essential data which will allow for the speeding up
PX4 First Space Demonstration
Sensitivity
of CubeSat design and also provide higher mission capacity resulting from
reduced Bus Design.

REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTACT ❏ Danfe Space Missin is ready for flight model development and is expected to be
❏ BIRDS project ❏ Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Government of Nepal Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal [ Space Foundation Nepal]
❏ PX4 Autopilot ❏ NBSpace and INSTED, Thailand launched within 2022.
Lazimpat, 44600, Kathmandu, Nepal
❏ ICIMOD Reports on Glacial Lakes ❏ KITSUNE 6U and GST, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan +977-9869397707
❏ Anantha Technologies Ltd. India info@antarikchya.org.np
https://antarikchya.org.np
SSC22-P2-09