2019.U.1.1. CubeSat Metadata

Author(s)

Nico Carver (1)
Katie Frey (1)
Daina Bouquin (1)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, U.S.A.

Session

B.2

Keywords

metadata, open, satnogs, metasat, community, collaboration

Abstract

The variety of small satellite missions range from high school science programs to support for interplanetary communication and the ways people document their missions are as diverse as the missions themselves. MetaSat, an open metadata schema in development, will function as a common way of describing hardware, software, and data specifications across missions to improve interoperability between them. This new digital infrastructure will allow for connections between different groups working with small satellites, and help people share information about past missions with future generations.

Capturing the breadth of work being done with small satellites is impossible without input from the small satellite community. For this reason, the MetaSat team is currently attending conferences to engage with the community and these conversations will help shape the schema design. The MetaSat team will also be refining their design by piloting an implementation of the schema on an open network of ground stations called SatNOGS in 2020.

This project has been made possible through funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its success ultimately relies on the MetaSat team’s ability to develop a schema that meets the small satellite community’s needs.