Exploring In‐Orbit Operations: Assessing Performance and Fault Management of the Student Small Satellite‐1 (SSS‐1)

Small satellites represent a pivotal advancement in space technology, offering versatile platforms for conducting educational missions with reduced costs. Initiated by the Asia‐Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), the Student Small Satellite‐1 (SSS‐1) mission exemplifies this paradigm. SSS‐1 is designed to validate the deployment of the coilable mast and conduct diverse space experiments in orbit. This paper provides a detailed exploration of the SSS‐1 space experiments and the fault handling procedures. Firstly, the overview of SSS‐1 is presented in this paper. Next, it details the results of various space experiments, including space imaging, remote sensing, electrical propulsion system tests, and Automatic Dependent Surveillance‐Broadcast (ADS‐B) signal acquisition. The in‐orbit performance of the platform subsystems is also delivered in this paper. Thus, the successful design and development of SSS‐1 are explained and validated. Despite encountering challenges such as a single event upset (SEU) and attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS) fault, SSS‐1’s overall performance remained robust, and the fault’s influence was greatly reduced with the manual control. This study not only highlights the technological advancements achieved by the SSS‐1 project but also provides valuable insights for future educational small satellite missions.