Captis launches “V-LOG: Very Low Orbital Glider” with DLR support

captis.space at TU Dresden’s Institute of Aerospace Engineering has received three-year support from DLR for V-LOG: Very Low Orbital Glider, a VLEO CubeSat platform advancing to Phase C. The mission targets ~250 km altitude and pioneers an ADCS based on differential drag with predictive maneuver planning, complemented by commercially available thrusters. Building on student-led research in rarefied-flow particle–surface interactions, V-LOG aims at atmosphere characterization and technology demonstration while training students and PhDs in end-to-end spacecraft design. Learn more and get in touch on the project website.

01/02/2025
Ulrich

The Institute of Aerospace Engineering at Technische Universität Dresden and its project group captis.space is kicking off V-LOG: Very Low Orbital Glider – a very low-flying small-satellite platform with innovative orbit and attitude control, a three-year project supported by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Under the project name captis.space, the team aims to mature a Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) CubeSat platform up to Phase C.

What we’re building

V-LOG targets a CubeSat designed for ~250 km altitude and focuses on an Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) based on differential drag. By modulating the spacecraft’s cross-section relative to the velocity vector, the satellite can vary atmospheric drag to shape its trajectory enabling along-track control and formation keeping with available electrical propulsion for drag compensation. The team is developing predictive maneuvering to plan these drag-based actions ahead of time for robustness and efficiency.

Why VLEO matters

Operating closer to Earth can deliver sharper imagery and lower link budgets for a given instrument, reduce latency, and allows to use higher frequencies resulting in higher bandwiths. Studies also indicate that lower altitudes can reduce required RF power (for the same performance) and allow smaller apertures in some mission classes. These gains come with challenges such as higher atmospheric drag, precisely the regime V-LOG is engineered to handle. The mission goal is to advance a VLEO satellite platform to phase c.

Technology Highlights

Differential-drag ADCS for orbit and attitude modulation in VLEO.
Target operation at ~250 km with commercially available thrusters to complement passive/aerodynamic control when needed.
Atmosphere characterization and technology demonstration as primary mission objectives.

From student research to a full platform

V-LOG builds on student-led research at TU Dresden investigating particle – surface interactions in rarefied flow and consolidating these effects in simulation models used for controller design. The new project scales those results toward a flight-ready architecture.

Team & training

The project team comprises students, research assistants and PhD researchers at the Institute of Aerospace Engineering (ILR), spanning flight mechanics, space systems, and control. A key objective is hands-on education, from subsystem ownership to system engineering, so that students can contribute to and learn from real spacecraft development at TU Dresden.

Call for industry partners

We are actively seeking industry and research partners, component suppliers and downstream application stakeholders to co-develop, test, and validate VLEO and Non-VLEO-ready subsystems and operations concepts with our system. Interested partners are warmly invited to get in touch.

About the Institute

The Institute of Aerospace Engineering (ILR) at TU Dresden unites the Chairs of Space Systems, Flight Mechanics & Control, and Aircraft Engineering, with a strong track record in research-driven education and small-satellite development.

Acknowledgement:

This publication is based on scientific projects which were funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action based on a resolution of the German Bundestag: “Very Low Orbital Glider – Eine sehr niedrig fliegende Kleinstsatellitenplattform mit innovativer Orbit- und Lagekontrolle” under the funding code 50RU2505. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the funding agencies cannot be held responsible for any use which might be made of the information contained therein.

TU Dresden’s captis.space presents VLEO control-surface research at IAC 2025 Sydney

Ulrich 10. October 2025

At the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2025) in Sydney (29 Sep–3 Oct), captis.space from TU Dresden’s Institute of Aerospace Engineering presented new results on “Innovative configuration of external control surfaces for attitude and orbit keeping of nanosatellites in very low earth orbit.” We introduced a dedicated aerodynamic control-flap system for VLEO (~250 km) that delivers higher peak control torques, avoids reaction-wheel desaturation, and preserves internal volume. Ground tests and simulations (HWM14, JB2008, NRLMSISE-00) indicate promising accuracy. The work feeds directly into V-LOG on the path to CDR. Paper: IAC-25,D1,2,3,x100543. Slides/preprint available on request.