PENTAS

Space Engineering

PentaS: Smart Software for Satellite-based Sensor Service

PentaS is part of the coordinated project HumSAT 2.0 that, based on the evaluation of the current HumSAT system with one satellite in orbit, will improve considerably its performance. HumSAT 2.0 aims to deploy a constellation of satellites with an intelligent control service that allows for capture and transmission of data generated by a net of world wide distributed sensors and ground stations, especially for sensors to monitor the environment at remote locations in areas without conventional communications infrastructure. To achieve this goal, software plays a fundamental role, because physically unreachable hardware embedded in small satellites is impossible to be maintained, the sensors and ground terminals must comply with end-user requirements and the ground stations are distributed over the world.

Reaching the scope of the main objective largely depends on the ability of information transmission between the sensors and the satellites and from these to the ground stations taking into account the limitations of the communication protocols and the options for configuration of the embedded system within the satellites. This requires an integrated software structure that covers different levels and aspects of technology. Moreover, there exists the needs to provide a deliberative, rational, and autonomous system (hence, intelligent or smart) that permits adapting the performance to end-user requirements with an optimal use of the available bandwidth.

PentaS includes the support for software development of the on-board software based on the experience acquired during the design and implementation of the operating systems of the pico-satellites XaTcobeo and HumSAT demonstrator, the support for the control of the communication between the sensors and the satellites, as well as the support for the transmission of data and telemetry between satellites and ground stations. Furthermore, automatic decision and planning software for the configuration of the overall system regarding its autonomous actions will be included in order to offer a transparent, efficient and adaptable service environment to the final user.

Given the difficulty of testing all possible subsystems in their final operational environment and in order to investigate alternative solutions, the construction of a software simulator that allows the system to be placed in situations similar to those before and after its launch is addressed. This simulation environment also serves for validation and, to some extent, verification purposes of the proposed and eventually implemented software system.

Financed Projects

Title: WiPTherm: Innovative Wireless Power Devices Using micro-Thermoelectric Generators arrays
Start Date: 01/11/2019
End Date: 31/10/2022
Budget: 463187 €
Leaders: Fernando Aguado Agelet, André Pereira
Funding Bodies: European Community [ FETOPEN-01 ID: 863307]
Title: IMONSS: Desarrollo de un pequeño satélite para la monotorización del espectro y validación de comunicaciones robustas
Start Date: 01/01/2017
End Date: 29/06/2019
Budget: 240000 €
Leaders: Arno Formella, Fernando Aguado Agelet
Funding Bodies: Ministerio de Economía y Competividad [ESP2016-79184-R]
Title: Fire-RS: Wildfire picosatellite constellation and UAVs remote sensing: active fire mapping and management
Start Date: 01/07/2016
End Date: 30/06/2019
Budget: 1121252 €
Leaders: Fernando Aguado Agelet
Funding Bodies: Interreg V B - Unión Europea - SUDOE - Cooperación Transfronteriza [SOE1/P4/E0437]
Title: PentaS: Smart Software para dar Servicio global a Sensores mediante Satélites
Start Date: 01/01/2014
End Date: 30/06/2017
Budget: 121000 €
Leaders: Arno Formella, Francisco Javier Rodríguez Martínez
Funding Bodies: Ministerio de Economía y Competividad [ESP2013-47935-C4-2-R], European Union (FEDER Funds)
Title: Servidor de cálculo científico de altas prestaciones
Start Date: 01/01/2013
End Date: 31/12/2015
Budget: 278239 €
Leaders: Xosé Antón Vila Sobrino
Funding Bodies: Ministerio de Economía y Competividad [UNVI13-1E-2283], European Union (FEDER Funds)

Publications

Title: In-orbit results of an ECSS Packet Utilization Standard implementation for small satellites: on-board software and mission control software for LUME-1 mission
Year: 2020
City: Málaga
Conference Name: SSSIF2020 Spanish Small Satellites International Forum
Type: Conference Contributions
Authors: Alberto González Muíño, Diego Nodar López, Santiago Iglesias Cofán, José Manuel Fernández Carillo, José Miguel Lago Agra, Arno Formella, Fernando Aguado Agelet

Title: CubeSat Handbook (Part II: CubeSat missions analysis and design, 12. Onboard software)
Year: 2020
Editorial: Elsevier
Isbn: 9780128178843
Pages: 237 - 250
Type: Book Chapters
Authors: Santiago Iglesias Cofán, Arno Formella

Title: On orbit results of the HumSAT Payload, a data collection system based on CubeSats
Year: 2016
City: San Luis Obispo
Country: CA, USA
Conference Name: 2016 Cubesat developers' Workshop
Organizer: CalPoly
Type: Conference Contributions
Authors: Alberto González Muíño, Diego Nodar López, Fernando Aguado Agelet

Title: Pentas: Using Satellites for Smart Sensing
Year: 2016
Editorial: Springer
Isbn: 978-3-319-39345-2
Volumen: 55
Pages: 683 - 693
Conference Name: Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services 2016
Organizer: Springer International Publishing
Type: Conference Contributions
Authors: Lorena Otero Cerdeira, Arno Formella, Alma Gómez Rodríguez, Francisco Javier Rodríguez Martínez, Juan Carlos González Moreno

Title: Testing storage and metadata backends with ClawIO
Year: 2016
Editorial: On-line [http://cs3.ethz.ch/program.html]
Conference Name: CS3: Cloud Services for Synchronisation and Sharing
Organizer: ETH Zürich
Type: Conference Contributions
Authors: Arno Formella, Hugo González Labrador

Title: Preliminary noise measurements campaign carried out by HUMSAT-D during 2014
Year: 2015
City: Prague
Country: Czech Republic
Conference Name: ITU-R Conference and Workshop on the Small Satellite Regulation and Communication Systems
Organizer: ITU
Type: Conference Contributions
Authors: Alberto González Muíño, Diego Nodar López, Fernando Aguado Agelet

People Involved

Student Work

Title: Interpretación e visualización de datos de servizos via satélite da Constelación HumSAT
Year: 2016
Editorial: Universidade De Vigo
Type: Bachelor's Thesis
Authors: Alioth Antonio Fuentes Abellás

Title: Document Management System para el desarrollo de satélites
Year: 2014
Editorial: Universidade De Vigo [ENI-479]
Type: Master's Thesis
Authors: Yago Lirón Rodríguez