Low-cost Stellar Sensor for Attitude Control of Small Satellites

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Scibelli ◽  
Vincenzo Ferrara ◽  
Fabrizio Bernardini
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Control ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Satellites

A Multimodule Planar Air Bearing Testbed for CubeSat-Scale Spacecraft

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Wilson ◽  
Laura L. Jones ◽  
Mason A. Peck
Keyword(s):  
Multibody Dynamics ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Ground Testing ◽  
Spacecraft Mission ◽  
Cost Scaling ◽  
Design Cost

In the past several years, small satellites have taken on an increasingly important role as affordable technology demonstrators and are now being viewed as viable low-cost platforms for traditional spacecraft mission objectives. As such, the CubeSat standard (1 kg in a 10 cm cube) has been widely adopted for university-led development efforts even as it is embraced by traditional spacecraft developers, such as NASA. As CubeSats begin to take on roles traditionally filled by much larger spacecraft, the infrastructure for dynamics and controls testing must also transition to accommodate the different size and cost scaling associated with CubeSats. While air-bearing-based testbeds are commonly used to enable a variety of traditional ground testing and development for spacecraft, few existing designs are suitable for development of CubeSat-scale technologies, particularly involving multibody dynamics. This work describes Cornell University's FloatCube testbed, which provides a planar reduced-friction environment for multibody dynamics and controls technology development for spacecraft less than 6 kg and a 15 cm cube. The multimodule testbed consists of four free-floating air-bearing platforms with on-board gas supplies that allow the platforms to float over a glass surface without external attachments. Each of these platforms, or FloatCubes, can host CubeSat-sized payloads at widely ranging levels of development, from prototype components to full-scale systems. The FloatCube testbed has already hosted several successful experiments, proving its ability to provide an affordable reduced-friction environment to CubeSat-scale projects. This paper provides information on the system design, cost, performance, operating procedures, and applications of this unique, and increasingly relevant, testbed.

scholarly journals Three-axis air-bearing based platform for small satellite attitude determination and control simulation

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Prado ◽  
G. Bisiacchi ◽  
L. Reyes ◽  
E. Vicente ◽  
F. Contreras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Control ◽  
Attitude Determination ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Simulation Platform ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Free Environment ◽  
And Control

A frictionless environment simulation platform, utilized for accomplishing three-axis attitude control tests in small satellites, is introduced. It is employed to develop, improve, and carry out objective tests of sensors, actuators, and algorithms in the experimental framework. Different sensors (i.e. sun, earth, magnetometer, and an inertial measurement unit) are utilized to assess three-axis deviations. A set of three inertial wheels is used as primary actuators for attitude control, together with three mutually perpendicular magnetic coils intended for desaturation purposes, and as a backup control system. Accurate balancing, through the platform’s center of mass relocation into the geometrical center of the spherical air-bearing, significatively reduces gravitational torques, generating a virtually torque-free environment. A very practical balancing procedure was developed for equilibrating the table in the local horizontal plane, with a reduced final residual torque. A wireless monitoring system was developed for on-line and post-processing analysis; attitude data are displayed and stored, allowing properly evaluate the sensors, actuators, and algorithms. A specifically designed onboard computer and a set of microcontrollers are used to carry out attitude determination and control tasks in a distributed control scheme. The main components and subsystems of the simulation platform are described in detail.

scholarly journals Guidance Stabilization of Satellites Using the Geomagnetic Field

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Francisco Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Attitude Stabilization ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Low Earth Orbit Satellite ◽  
Games Theory

In the last years the small satellites have played an important role in the technological development. The attractive short period of design and low cost of them and the capacity to solve problems that are usually considered as problems to big and expensive spacecrafts lead us to study the control problem of these satellites. Active three-axis magnetic attitude stabilization of a low Earth orbit satellite is considered in this work. The control is created by interaction between the magnetic moment generated by magnetorquers mounted on the satellite body and the geomagnetic field. This problem is quite complex and difficult to solve. To overcome this difficulty guidance control is considered, where we use ε-strategies introduced by Pontryagin in the frame of differential games theory. Qualitative analysis and results of numerical simulation are presented.

Pehuensat-1

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-77
Author(s):  
Juan Jorge Quiroga ◽  
Jorge Lassig ◽  
Darío Mendieta
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Space Science ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Microelectronic Technology ◽  
Scientific Experiments

Nowadays, it is possible to achieve low cost and short production times space missions using satellites with a mass below 10 kg. These small satellites are described as nanosatellites. Current microelectronic technology makes it possible to develop nanosatellites for scientific experiments and relatively complex measurements (as well as for other applications), making it easy for universities and small research groups to have access to space science exploration and to exploit the new economic possibilities that emerge. This paper describes an experiment developed in Argentina at the Universidad Nacional del Comahue to design, construct and flight test a nanosatellite called Pehuensat-1. Finally is presented to Pehuensat-2 as future commercial nano-satellite.

scholarly journals A Second-Iteration Square Koch Fractal Slot Antenna for UHF Downlink Telemetry Applications in CubeSat Small Satellites

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jorge Simon ◽  
Jorge Flores-Troncoso ◽  
Jose Luis Alvarez-Flores ◽  
Leonel Soriano-Equigua ◽  
Marco Cardenas-Juarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reflection Coefficient ◽  
Fractal Geometry ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Slot Antenna ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Cost Difference ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Koch Fractal ◽  
Uhf Band

This article presents the design, fabrication, and measurement of a square Koch fractal slot antenna for UHF band using both the FR4-G10 and Cuclad 250 substrates. Conveniently, this 56.56 cm full-length antenna possesses a geometry that allows it to be incorporated into the standardized 10 cm × 10 cm faces of the CubeSats. Furthermore, it is shown that both selected substrates exhibit an acceptable performance at the frequency of interest despite the economic cost difference and relative permittivity. Hence, the commercial FR4-G10 antenna substrate can be preferred because of its low-cost and admissible performance at 458 MHz, which is a frequency in the UHF band that is commonly used for telemetry, tracking, and command downlinks of CubeSats. Measurements show that the proposed antenna exhibits a reflection coefficient of −16.53 dB, a bandwidth of 22.62 MHz at −10 dB, a VSWR of 1.3508, a normalized impedance of 0.794 − j0.173 at 50 Ω, and a directivity of 2.24 dBi. The contribution of this work consists in the use of a fractal geometry to construct a low-cost slot antenna working at UHF frequencies over the limited area of the CubeSat faces and in order to optimize the area for an eventual coexistence with solar cells.

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