Learn more about this 2026 Madison Trust project.
JMU DukeSAT Space Flight Initiative
Presenters
Dr. Jonathan Spindel | spindejh@jmu.edu Professor, ISAT, College of Integrated Science and Engineering
Abstract
The long-range goal of the JMU DukeSAT project is to develop and launch a constellation of small satellites (CubeSATs) to provide low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite customers with access to low-cost, reliable LEO wireless networking and seamless communications to the ground, thereby reducing their operating costs and onboard power requirements. In partnership with Interorbital Systems, a launch services company, the current proposal aims to fund a first-flight JMU DukeSAT experiment. The focus of the current project is to support the JMU DukeSAT space flight experiment, a student-centered small satellite mission. This mission will test our ability to launch, communicate with, and collect data from space using an onboard camera to capture and transmit images from LEO, as a step towards continuing small satellite development work at James Madison University and in the Shenandoah Valley.
Project
The JMU DukeSAT project is an extension of the JMU MeshSAT business concept to develop and launch a constellation of small satellites (CubeSATs) to provide low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite customers with access to a low-cost, reliable LEO wireless networking and seamless communications to the ground and reduce customer satellite operating costs and onboard power requirements. Starting in 2021, our work has focused on benchtop and high-altitude testing of hardware, software, and space communication systems, setting the stage for flight testing in space. The goal of the current proposal is to support the launch of our first JMU DukeSAT small satellite to space as a first-flight test of our satellite hardware and space-ground communication systems. Partnering with Interorbital Systems, a launch services company, our team will design, develop, and ground test a small satellite capable of capturing and transmitting images of the Earth from space. As a project initiated in 2021, our work has focused on benchtop and high-altitude testing of hardware, software, and space communication systems, to set the stage for flight testing in space. Over this period, we have successfully tested a range of hardware, software, and communication systems designed to expose students to the
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design, development, and testing of satellite subsystems, while advancing our goals towards systems that can be deployed in space. As part of our initial stages of this work, we benchtop-tested low-power mesh network hardware with the capacity to be part of a high-altitude launch system. Beginning in 2022, the development effort focused on two flight experiments to test our systems at altitude using high-altitude balloons. The goal of HiSAT One was to test our ability to launch, track, and recover a high-altitude balloon system. This successful mission was followed by the HiSAT Two flight experiment, which sent two high-altitude balloons to an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet to test balloon-to-balloon and balloon-to-ground communications and networking systems. The success of these experiments led us to develop further and improve our radio communications systems, focusing our efforts on creating more stable radio subsystems and increasing the radio bandwidth of these systems. Over the past year, our team has assembled and deployed a mobile satellite ground communications station. This system includes ground-based radios, directional antennae, and motorized systems to permit tracking and bi-directional communication with passing LEO and spacecraft, including the International Space Station. Given the work to date, we believe the next step for our development effort is to test our ability to launch, track, and communicate with a JMU DukeSAT satellite in LEO. To accomplish this, we have developed a working relationship with Interorbital Systems. Interorbital Systems (IOS) is a rocket, satellite, and spacecraft manufacturing company and launch-service provider founded in 1996. IOS has facilities at the Mojave Air and Spaceport, which include a 6,000-sq ft manufacturing and engineering building and two rocket engine test sites. The company has developed two different orbital launch vehicles with the capacity to launch small satellites into LEO. As part of this relationship, and as part of a discount from their regular launch cost, IOS is offering us the opportunity to put a JMU DukeSAT satellite into LEO for $22,000. The JMU DukeSAT team involves faculty and students from multiple academic units, and the opportunity for JMU students to be part of a developing and deploying space hardware is truly unique, with experiences extending well beyond those they will gain through their other academic endeavors. As a JMU-centered venture, this effort continues to provide JMU students with an opportunity to engage in the growing commercial space industry, offering an exciting opportunity for JMU to bring an element of this industry to the Shenandoah Valley and the Virginia community as a part of our institutional service to the Commonwealth.
Benefit to JMU
The JMU DukeSAT development program represents an exciting business prospect, grounded in providing JMU students an opportunity to explore and learn disciplines required to design, develop, test, and launch small satellites into low Earth orbit. Students engaged in this effort will gain knowledge from disciplines such as electronic communications, wireless networking, microcomputing and microcontroller systems,
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power system management, structural design, and systems engineering. Furthermore, students are learning a wide range of skills necessary to develop a new commercial enterprise, including elements of customer discovery, customer development, marketing, contract management, and systems integration. Graduates who have been involved in this project are pursuing careers ranging from the aerospace industry to a doctoral program in Aerospace Engineering. As this has developed, we have engaged students from across the College of Integrated Science and Engineering, currently including Integrated Science and Technology, Intelligence Analysis, and Engineering. In furthering our efforts, it is expected that students from across the JMU community, including those from the Business and Industrial Design programs, will likely be involved. Outside of these, however, it is hoped that our development program will engage students and faculty from the broader spectrum of JMU academic programs as we identify and define best uses for the technology moving forward. Ultimately, JMU DukeSAT (and JMU MeshSAT) systems will be offered to the full range of planned LEO missions, including satellite systems focused on enhancing our understanding of the natural world, and space-based systems for studying the impact of geo-political events that provide real- time data that are not readily available through large government and private satellite data systems. As a JMU-centered venture, JMU DukeSAT will provide a way for students across JMU to engage in the growing commercial space industry and provide an exciting opportunity for us to bring an element of this industry to the Shenandoah Valley and the Virginia community that we serve as an institution.
Supplemental Materials
• The JMU DukeSAT webpage: https://sites.google.com/view/jmudukesat/home • Dukes in Space from JMU homepage: https://www.jmu.edu/news/madison- trust/2021/11-9-dukesat-test-launch.shtml • JMU in SPACE Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/jamesmadisonuniversity/posts/jmu-in-space-the-jmu- dukesat-team-took-its-first-steps-towards-space-this-month-/10159668558305768/ • Video from the HiSAT 2 high-altitude flight experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu3n_146AC4
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Projected Budget
Summer stipends for students:
$1,800
Travel (project related student travel):
$3,000
Equipment for testing:
$2,000
Interorbital Systems
$22,000
Other:
$200
Total:
$29,000
The total cost for equipment and launch services supplied by Interorbital Systems (IOS) is approximately $22,000. This is broken down as $11,000 for supplies and materials and $11,000 for launch services. If this funding goal is not met, we will be able to design, build, and test the satellite portion of the JMU DukeSAT Flight experiment as a benchtop test of our system; however, we will not be able to pay for launch services through IOS, and additional funding would be required to support launch services. The remaining budget covers costs associated with the design, build, and testing of the JMU DukeSAT satellite, summer stipend support for students and student travel, miscellaneous test equipment and supplies. The included student travel amount will support student travel for pre-flight system checkout and evaluation onsite at IOS. Additional internal funding will be directed towards small equipment, supplies, travel, and pre-flight ground testing of the satellite system as needed.
Project Team
Dr. Jonathan Spindel is the lead faculty member for the project and serves as faculty in Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) and Engineering. He has experience in electronics and communications hardware. Dr. Bryan Cage is a faculty member in Biology with a background in electronics and teaches as part of the Robotics program at JMU. Dr. Stefano Colafranceschi is a faculty member in Integrated Science and Technology with a background in electronics and space system communications. There are eight high-achieving students involved in the project, who come from the Integrated Science and Technology program, the Engineering program, and the Intelligence Analysis program. Students’ experience includes academic and hands-on experience with electronics, microcontrollers, programming, and radio communication.
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