Celebrating 10 years in orbit: Lessons Learned on our journey

This article traces the journey of LabOSat from its inception, focusing on the early development and testing of micro- and nano-devices, to our milestone achievement of deploying a payload in space. We explore the significant advances we’ve made, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the essential lessons we’ve learned over the past decade. Join us as we reflect on our experiences and look forward to the future of innovation and exploration in space technology.

April and May have been exceptionally busy months for us, filled with intensive work and numerous commitments, which made it challenging to find time to write. Additionally, writing in English presents its own set of challenges. These may sound like excuses, and to some extent, they are. However, they also reflect the realities of our demanding schedule. The silver lining is that all the hard work over these months (and years) is now bearing fruit. Despite the hectic pace, I wanted to take a moment to share something that fills us with immense pride as a research group: this June marks the 10th anniversary of our first payload in space. I want to take this opportunity to write about it – about the beginnings of LabOSat, my journey as a PhD student and then as a researcher. I will also share stories about the many people I've met along the way and the invaluable lessons I've learned.

We put nine payloads into orbit, tested more than 160 devices, and accumulated more than 5900 days in orbit.

So, let's start at the beginning. For us, the beginning was with silicon. Our group initially focused on the development and testing of micro- and nano-devices, fabricated on a small scale in the laboratory. Primarily, we worked on memristors with RRAM technology in mind. This non-volatile random access memory technology is based on the phenomenon of resistive switching. At that time, our goal was to advance our understanding of this technology, explore different combinations of materials exhibiting this physical principle, and miniaturize each bit. One of the advantages of this technology over traditional memories is its performance against ionizing radiation. Since the information is encoded in a resistive value rather than a capacitive one, these memories are much less sensitive to typical radiation effects, such as single event upsets or bitflips. Additionally, because they are not based on CMOS technology, they are completely insensitive to single event latch-ups. This means radiation is unlikely to erase or damage them.

This resilience sparked the idea of testing our devices in environments where ionizing radiation is present, such as space. However, getting to space, as you know, is no easy feat. Fortunately, at that time, Satellogic, a company developing earth observation satellites, was growing rapidly in Argentina. We approached Satellogic with the proposal to test memristors in orbit. They found the idea compelling and asked us not to just send these tiny devices but a payload capable of testing them. Thus, MeMOSat was born, with the goal of testing our memristors in space as we had done in the laboratory. MeMOSat-01 was integrated into BugSat-1 (COSPAR ID 2014-033E), a.k.a Tita, after Tita Merello, and launched into orbit on June 19, 2014. Ten years ago.

A lot has happened in these 10 years. To begin with, we put nine payloads into orbit, tested more than 160 devices, and accumulated more than 5900 days in orbit. We participated in different conferences (I particularly enjoyed my stays at Cal Poly and Brasilia, both in 2022), published more than 15 papers and proceedings, saw undergraduate and doctoral students complete their studies, and developed electronics, including our OBC. We have enjoyed the process and learned a lot. We know we have a lot more to learn, and that's why we want to continue with our next 10 years in space.

It has been a very challenging 10 years. They have also been very motivating and filled us with joy. We hope that the next 10 years will be even better. We are working on that to take our full potential and leverage our experience and knowledge. Join us in the new decade ahead for LabOSat!

Some lessons learned:

Test, test, test... and test again. We all know this mantra, but now we know it for sure. There is no such thing as plug and play. “It's the same design, we make it and it goes”. It doesn’t work that way. You have to test everything, repeatedly. Testing is not just a task, but a crucial step you need to learn to enjoy and master. Effective testing is about designing comprehensive trials and learning from each iteration.

The best ideas appear in the shower (when you have nowhere to write them down!). Perhaps this is personal, but it often happens to me. When I manage to view the problem from another perspective, innovative ideas emerge that didn't appear when I was stuck. However, ideas don't materialize out of thin air; they require groundwork. Without working on them, the ideas that do surface will vanish. That 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration rule? I completely agree with it.

Money is important, ideas are fundamental. While it’s true that high-tech projects are hard to execute without funding, without innovative ideas, they are impossible. Even complex projects can sometimes be achieved with less money if the lack of resources is compensated for with collaboration and creative fundraising strategies. A good idea makes securing resources easier, though not easy—it never is.

"No" as an answer is the default. You must always ask, try, and act. If you don't try, the answer will always be no. If you try and fail, the answer might still be no. But only through trying will you ever get a yes. Persistence and effort are key.

The human factor is paramount. Innovation and technological developments require collaborative, multidisciplinary teams. A strong team, with good leadership and healthy interpersonal relationships, is essential. Many hours will be dedicated to the work, and doing it in a supportive and productive environment maximizes everyone’s potential and makes the journey more enjoyable.

Networking is essential. Every moment is an opportunity to build relationships with new colleagues. Collaborations and joint efforts are crucial for developing technology and maximizing resources. We must remain humble and open to learning from others, sharing knowledge, and progressing together. This collective approach leads to better outcomes and visible results.