SmallSatellite Conference 2025

  POSTED ON: Thursday, August 14, 2025 2:00 PM by author of the story

Midshipmen Isabella Fernald and Jack Phelan presented "Optical Observation of Mola CubeSat in Orbit Using Ground Telescope" at the 2025 Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, UT, which ran from August 11-13, 2025.  The presentation described joint NPS-USNA efforts to optically track the NPS 6U-Cubesat Mola, which launched in 2024 with an LED on-prbit payload. From September 2024-May 2025, Mola was successfully tracked using the Hopper Hall optical telescope. Key features of the operations sessions included: optical tracking with and without simultaneous RF tracking; various camera exposure times; optical tracking with LEDs off/on/blinking and Mola sunlit/unlit; broadband photometry measurements; and diffraction-grating spectroscopy to analyze satellite composition.  Midshipmen Abbie White and Marcus Lee also attended the conference and manned the USNA Exhibit Booth. Professors Jin Kang (AERO) and Jeff Larsen  (Physics), CAPT Mike Sanders, Maj. David Richie and SSEL Engineer Christine Maceo accompanied the midshipmen.

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Category: Academics