Design and Development of a CubeSat De-Orbit Device

1. Design and Development of a CubeSat De-Orbit Device

2. Team Members • An Kim • CianBranco • David Warner • Edwin Billips • Langston Lewis • Thomas Work • Mackenzie Webb • Benjamin Cawrse (CS) • Jason Harris (TCC)

3. Introduction • Thousands of man made objects in earth orbit (mostly junk). • Debris can be a serious hazard to satellites. • A paint flake threatened the Space Shuttle; a Russian Satellite disabled an Iridium satellite

4. Debris in Earth’s Orbit

5. Introduction • CubeSatsare picosatellitesused by universities and institutions for research in space. • Pending international treaty will require future launch stages and LEO satellites to deorbitwithin 25 years of mission completion. • Objective: design and test a de-orbit system to de-orbit CubeSats within 25 years of mission completion.

6. Objectives • Demonstrate commercial viability • Prove it is a robust and viable system • Achieve these objectives with a minimum cost • Orbital demonstrator • Suborbital flight • High altitude balloon flight

7. Objectives • Demonstrate commercial viability • Prove it is a robust and viable system • Achieve these objectives with a minimum cost • Orbital demonstrator • Suborbital flight • High altitude balloon flight

8. Objectives • Demonstrate commercial viability • Prove it is a robust and viable system • Achieve these objectives with a minimum cost • Orbital demonstrator • Suborbital flight • High altitude balloon flight

9. Objectives • Demonstrate commercial viability • Prove it is a robust and viable system • Achieve these objectives with a minimum cost • Orbital demonstrator • Suborbital flight • High altitude balloon flight

10. RockSat-X Program • The RockSat-X program out of Wallops Flight Facility is currently considered the best option for our test flight • RockSat-X utilizes the Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket • The sounding rocket will reach apogee at approximately 160 km altitude from the Earth.

11. Advantages of RockSat-X • 300 seconds of microgravity flight • Power and telemetry on deck provided for timing devices, communication between ground and payload, and data storage • Direct access to orbital space after second stage burn-out when the skin of the sounding rocket is ejected. • Adequate space and weight capacity available to mount the deployment device and necessary telemetry for the mission of our CubeSat

12. Electronics Langston Lewis

13. Power • Lithium-Ion batteries will be used to supply power to the board and release mechanism. • Can sustain high amounts of continuous current discharge in order to run the camera and communications devices. • Mass of batteries is a concern

14. Arduino Board • Stable operation between 6-20 volts • 14 digital and 6 analog pins • Board has built in accelerometers

15. Strain Gauge • Mounted on aero brake support structure. • Voltage differences can be converted to strain and then used to calculate drag coefficient produced by balloon

16. Video Acquisition • 160x120 resolution • Support capture JPEG from serial port • Default baud rate of serial port is 38400 but we will be transmitting at 19200 • Works reliably with 5v power supply • Size 32X32mm • Consumes between 80-100 mA of current

17. Radio Communication • Low-power and weight in an equally small size • Provides adequate resolution and range

18. Aerodynamic Brake • Objective: • Mylar Balloon • Test benzoic acid inflations under different temperature than the sublimating temperature • Calculate the correct benzoic acid mass to inflate the Mylar balloon within the vacuum chamber • Record time for the benzoic acid to fully inflate • Nitinol (SMA)

19. Aerodynamic Brake • Temperature for benzoic acid inflation • From Emerald Performance Materials, estimated sublimation temp is C • A thermistor will be use to vary temperature when testing benzoic acid inflation

20. Aerodynamic Brake • Mass of benzoic acid • The required amount of benzoic acid will be less than 0.1 gram. • The mass may vary to increase the rate of inflation http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/chm220th/files/2011/09/photo-4.jpg

21. Aerodynamic Brake • Time Limit • Must inflate in under 300 seconds • Goal of the experiment is to have the Mylar Balloon to inflate in less than 200 seconds.

22. O-POD Design David Warner Cian Branco

23. O-POD Overview • ODU Picosatellite Orbital Deployer • Bolted to Rocksat-X deck, “piggybacks” rocket • Directly connected to RS-X Power Interface (1 A-h) • Stores, imparts ejection velocity to CubeSat • 1.6 m/s from spring, lateral to deck • Al-7075-T651 frame • 1.477 kg total mass

24. O-POD Specifications • Materials • 7mm thick Al-7075 plates • Holes can be cut for RS-X power interface & instruments • 42 + 12 bolts (M4 x0.70 10mm) • ASTM-A228 “Music Wire” Spring • 19.62cm length (entire) • 7 turns coil • Held by crossbar on back plate • Supports pusher-plate • ~1.5 kg total • Overall Dimensions • 12.7cm x 12.7 cm x 19.62 cm

25. Design Concerns • 5 design iterations, still not space-rated • Weak pusher-plate to spring connection • Torsion in spring, friction issues on rails • CubeSat mockup “f” varies w/ humidity (cardboard) • Aluminum mockup in the works • Lubrication? • Quick Release Mechanism Options • Vectran Line Cutter (ODU built) • 2 Linear Solenoids • Center-of-Mass • Must be inside 2” square at center

26. Future Work • Further PATRAN & FEA analysis (vibrations accountable) • Resume velocity measurements with new mockup • Choose quick release mechanism within budget • Design a mounting plate to connect O-POD to RockSat-X

27. Gantt Chart

28. Conclusion • Most of our time so far has been allocated to gathering information, resources and planning • We will apply that information to create prototypes and perform the necessary experimental tests for the successful mission of our CubeSat • All tests and prototypes will be performed and created to interface with RockSat-X, but we will consider other options for test flights as well.

29. Questions ?