Design and Analysis of an Event Camera Payload for Space-Based Object Detection on the EventSat 6U CubeSat Mission.

The EventSat mission is a technology demonstration mission of a 6U CubeSat by Technical Uni-versity of Munich to apply event cameras for resident space object detection. Event cameras are asynchronous sensors that detect changes in pixel brightness, providing data updates at a micro-second temporal resolution with low power consumption. We perform an initial analysis of the limiting apparent visual magnitude for the Prophesee EVK4, accounting for parameters like dark current, quantum efficiency, and optic aperture diameter. Initial simulations estimate that the sen-sor will be able to detect visual magnitudes up to 7.7. Then, we perform a parametric analysis relating the qualities of different resident space objects like their speed, brightness, and size; and the optic qualities of the sensor like its f-number and contrast threshold. This analysis constraints the types of detectable space objects for the planned mission. Finally, we discuss the development of a single-stage baffle for our event camera. Baffles reduce stray light from nearby bodies, which is important for our mission to detect dim objects within its limiting magnitude. We estimate initial baffle sizing, and conduct trade-off studies on vane dimension, placings, and exclusions angles. These results help define the mission’s pointing and operational requirements.     «

The EventSat mission is a technology demonstration mission of a 6U CubeSat by Technical Uni-versity of Munich to apply event cameras for resident space object detection. Event cameras are asynchronous sensors that detect changes in pixel brightness, providing data updates at a micro-second temporal resolution with low power consumption. We perform an initial analysis of the limiting apparent visual magnitude for the Prophesee EVK4, accounting for parameters like dark current, quantum efficiency,...     »