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Spacecraft Design

Spacecraft Design. A CubeSat contains many components that can be broken into six major subsystems:. Structure Communication Power Attitude determination and control Command and data handling The payload. Structure. CubeSats can vary in size, depending on how many units are used

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Spacecraft Design

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  1. Spacecraft Design

  2. A CubeSat contains many components that can be broken into six major subsystems: • Structure • Communication • Power • Attitude determination and control • Command and data handling • The payload

  3. Structure • CubeSats can vary in size, depending on how many units are used • A single unit or “1U” is a roughly 4in cube

  4. Communication • The communications system is severely limited by the amount of power available, which is usually around 2W. • CubeSats use radio-communication systems. The satellite uses an antenna, usually deployed once in orbit to help with communication. • Antennas can range from commercial measuring tape to more complicated inflatable dish antennas.

  5. Power The electrical power system consists of batteries and solar panels. • Batteries take up a lot of mass and volume on the already tightly packed CubeSat. • Solar panels hold solar cells that convert the solar light from the sun to electricity. • A major design challenge is placing the solar panels, either on the sides of the CubeSat itself, or having deploying solar panels. Having deployable panels adds solar cell area but also an extra mechanical complexity. For the panels to deploy, they need a burn wire release mechanism, and every mechanical system adds the possibility of a failure. If the panel does not deploy properly, the CubeSat will not have any power and even if everything else is functioning properly, the CubeSat will fail due to the lack of power.

  6. Attitude Determination and Control • The attitude determination and control system (ADCS) controls the orientation of the CubeSat with respect to an inertial frame of reference and includes reaction wheels, magnetorquers, thrusters, star trackers, sun and Earth sensors, angular rate sensors and GPS receivers and antennas. • This complex system is needed because when the satellite is first deployed, for example via NanoRacks from the International Space Station, it is tumbling. Some CubeSats can operate in this state, but others require pointing accuracy and location knowledge.

  7. Command and Data Handling • The command & data handling system (CDHS) includes their own computer that interfaces with the payload to do various tasks which might include image processing, data analysis, and data compression. Some CubeSats have even used smartphones as the CDHS, such as NASA’s PhoneSat.

  8. Payload • The payload, or the purpose of the CubeSat, dramatically varies depending on the type of mission required. These can include cameras for pictures or video, like Planet Labs, or space qualification of certain electronic components, testing of a flight control system, or even some type of biological experiment. • CubeSats are no longer just an academic project—they’re taking over the space industry. Companies like Planet Labs, NASA, and Aerospace Corporation are developing, launching, and investing in this technology. In the immediate future, when people think of a satellite, they will no longer think of a massive, clunky object, but a small, handheld one. In the farther-out future, when people think of a satellite, they’ll think of the one they worked on and launched into space.

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