A modular microsatellite bus with a high energy particle spectrometer in a responsive space environment

The United States has come to depend on satellites as an indispensible part of our economy, playing a role in credit verification, inventory tracking, imaging, communications, space and terrestrial weather monitoring, defense, and many other functions. Due to the dependence on satellites the need to rapidly replace (days rather than years) a loss of a space asset has grown for both military and civilian programs. However, the traditional spacecraft is a one-of-a-kind design that provides for a high degree of capability, but comes with a high cost (>;More specifically the space weather community faces an aging fleet of spacecrafts with many needing replacement in the near future, creating a critical need for a continuation of space weather measurements. In order to keep up, a paradigm shift in spacecraft design is required. Basing the design of the instruments, subsystems, and structure around a set of common interfaces reduces costs associated with one-of-a-kind designs, and allows for a rapid assembly of components during spacecraft integration. A set of common interfaces is proposed in this work that applies to the entire spacecraft system and was developed through the Thunderstorm and Effects Scientific Nanosatellite and the Boston University Student Satellite for Application and Training A capable space weather instrument that was designed following traditional design practices is discussed and illustrates the need for the new paradigm. This 18 pixel imaging electron spectrometer was developed for the US Air Force's Demonstration and Science Experiments Satellite.;The set of common interfaces discussed in this work aligns closely with many emerging satellite technologies such as CubeSats, Space Plug and Play, the Interplanetary Internet, and the fractionated satellite concept. The relationship between this work and these emerging technologies is discussed.