Mechanism of cooperation for the development of a Central American Space Project - A regional CubeSat

Abstract

The Central American region has embarked on different endeavors related to space engineering in recent years. CubeSat missions are currently being independently developed in Costa Rica and Guatemala, with the main purpose of training the human resources, creating the know-how, and infrastructure necessary to execute end-to-end space missions. On the longer term, both groups seek to develop further small satellite missions that will allow scientists and engineers to address the needs of the region, which include remote sensing, communications, monitoring of drug trafficking, illegal fishing, assessing the impact of and preparing for climate change, among others. Both teams understand that to potentiate their capacities beyond the realm of these initial projects, cooperation among peer teams is mandatory. Due to the similar socio-economic situation of both countries and their similar level of development and geographical closeness, there exists a great potential for collaboration. In this scenario, it has been concluded that the best way to develop this collaboration is through the development of a joint space engineering project. This paper proposes a CubeSat mission that will initiate cooperation between research institutions in Central America, led by Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) and Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC). Previous examples of collaboration between countries of different regions in space-related projects are analyzed and discussed. A methodology developed by researchers at UVG is used to selecting the mission that would benefit the Central American region the most while considering programmatic risk and technical feasibility. This work serves as the basis for determining aspects such as spacecraft capabilities, specifications, and resources needed. Additionally, it helps define the different spacecraft subsystems and other mission features including project management, funding acquisition, testing, launch, and operations. The design philosophy is presented as well, which consists of incremental innovation, starting with the use of high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) spacecraft components from established suppliers, leading to subsystem development by universities and industry in the region. Furthermore, the distribution of responsibilities between participating organizations is defined based on the capabilities of the stakeholders.