The First Orbital Flight of the ELROI Optical Satellite License Plate

TL;DR

This paper reports on the first orbital deployment of ELROI, a compact, autonomous optical beacon for satellite identification, enhancing space traffic management and safety.

Contribution

It introduces the ELROI optical identifier, demonstrating its successful deployment on a CubeSat for space object identification.

Findings

ELROI was successfully launched into orbit in December 2018.

The system can identify satellites during a single ground pass.

ELROI enhances space safety with low-cost, autonomous identification.

Abstract

Space Object Identification is one of the cornerstones of Space Traffic Control and a requirement for successful operation of a spacecraft. ELROI, the Extremely Low Resource Optical Identifier, is a new concept that can provide a self-powered satellite identification beacon in a package the size of a thick postage stamp. Its small size, low cost, and fully autonomous operation make it usable by all space objects, including CubeSats and inert debris objects. The beacon's signal is received on the ground using a small telescope equipped with a photon-counting detector which can unambiguously determine the satellite identification number during a single pass overhead. Additional information can be included in the signal to aid in anomaly diagnosis and resolution, further improving spaceflight reliability and safety. The first ELROI unit in orbit was launched December, 2018 as a payload on the student CubeSat NMTSat. We are now searching for the identification signal.