Pre-Launch Testing of the Lunar Flashlight (LF) CubeSat GNC System

Lunar Flashlight (LF) is a 6U, 14 kg spacecraft that will measure potential surface water ice deposits in the permanently shadowed region (PSR) of the moon. The mission described in this paper will use IR laser technology to search for volatiles in preparation for future human lunar exploration. A CubeSat’s guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system is crucial for the spacecraft to successfully reach the moon, enter a lunar orbit, and acquire scientific data. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has adopted a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) integrated GNC spacecraft system after experience from over twenty CubeSat missions. When hardware is delivered to JPL by the vendor, thorough validation testing is performed to guarantee fundamental functionality before the hardware is integrated into the spacecraft. Moreover, while the validation processes for the first few CubeSats relying on similar COTS-integrated GNC systems at JPL were very fluid, LF represents the first attempt JPL has made to apply large-mission, rigorous testing processes to a CubeSat, with the intent of standardizing the testing process for a rapidly growing number of CubeSats at JPL. This paper presents the rigorous testing concept applied to the GNC system, the various tests that have been performed and standardized, and the data acquired during the testing campaign to ensure that the LF GNC system will function as part of the integrated spacecraft once launched. The ground command and interface system is also summarized, and a path forward towards hardware integration at the spacecraft level is described.