Academic literature on the topic 'CubeSat Design Specification'

The development of CubeSats has been advanced significantly during the past two decades for both scientific research and industrial purposes. During the manufacturing process, every CubeSat must satisfy various system requirements in which the structural analysis is one of the most vital necessity in order to assure a normal operation of the CubeSat during its working time in space. In the conceptual design phase, structural dynamics is a mandatory step to determine the natural frequencies of individual bodies, the deformation and stress induced at the corresponding vibration modes to prevent structural failure. In this work, IGOSat, a 3-Unit CubeSat, which was developed at the Paris Diderot University is exanimated in term of modal, harmonic response, and random vibration analysis at the time of ground testing as well as the launching phase using ANSYS software. These numerical simulations conducted according to the CubeSat Design Specification and the system requirements of QB50 project. The minimum natural frequency of the CubSat obtained to be 363.17 (Hz), which passed the required frequency of 90 (Hz). Moreover, the Harmonic and Random vibration analyses indicate that the peak response of normal stress, as well as deformation values obtained, are far lesser compared to the yield strength of the frame structure and subsystem materials. Hence, our numerical analysis found that the CubeSat remains intact during the launch environment.

The design optimization, development, and verification by analysis and testing of the 1st Greek cubesat, developed by the University of Patras and Libre Space Foundation (UPSat (University of Patras Satellite)), is presented. The key innovative approach includes the replacement of the aluminum side faces with structural composite components, keeping the commonly used aluminum frame. A “hybrid” double-unit (2U) cubesat structure was optimized, built, and tested for all launch and thermal loads/specifications required for launch and mission operations as imposed from the EU-funded FP7-QB50 project. Results show that the new design of the structure using CFRP can offer similar levels of performance in terms of stiffness, while saving 30% of the mass, for the entire cubesat platform.

Concrete is the main material used in most of structures in the world. The use of high strength and high performance concrete to overcome deterioration due to static and dynamic load and some environmental burden in different situation such as chloride attack, sulphate attack and etc, is increasing worldwide. Achieving to a concrete with a high quality and saving in amount of material used for producing the concrete need a proper mix design method taken into account. DOE method is considered as an effective and substantial method in implementing the concrete mix design. In this paper, specifications and all mix design calculation steps using DOE method in achieving a high strength and high performance concrete for a tall building in a coastal environment based on three concrete cubes specimens produced in the lab, are investigated. The 7 and 14 day compressive strength test were implemented on the concrete cubes. At the end, it concluded that the specified compressive strength (45 N/mm2) can be achieved on the 28th day based on DOE method.

The effects of using crushed waste concrete as course aggregates upon compressive strength and carbonation were investigated. Waste concrete cubes, which had been tested for compressive strength in compliance with construction specification, were crushed and utilized as coarse recycled aggregates in new concrete. It is important to mention that, in order to simulate the real life conditions, waste concrete with very minimal information about its originality was used in its natural moisture condition. Tests on the aggregates showed that the recycled concrete aggregates have lower specific gravity and bulk density but have higher water absorption capacity than the natural aggregates. The resistance to mechanical actions such as impact and crushing for recycled concrete aggregates is also lower. Concrete mixes with design strength of 30 N/mm2, 35 N/mm2 and 40 N/mm2 were prepared using this recycled aggregates as coarse aggregates and tested. From the strength point of view the recycled aggregate concrete compared well with natural aggregate concrete. Therefore, it could be considered for various potential applications. With respect to resistance to carbonation the recycled aggregate concrete shows comparable performance.

The European Space Agency (ESA) defines Earth observation (EO) Level 2 information product the stack of: (i) a single-date multi-spectral (MS) image, radiometrically corrected for atmospheric, adjacency and topographic effects, with (ii) its data-derived scene classification map (SCM), whose thematic map legend includes quality layers cloud and cloud–shadow. Never accomplished to date in an operating mode by any EO data provider at the ground segment, systematic ESA EO Level 2 product generation is an inherently ill-posed computer vision (CV) problem (chicken-and-egg dilemma) in the multi-disciplinary domain of cognitive science, encompassing CV as subset-of artificial general intelligence (AI). In such a broad context, the goal of our work is the research and technological development (RTD) of a “universal” AutoCloud+ software system in operating mode, capable of systematic cloud and cloud–shadow quality layers detection in multi-sensor, multi-temporal and multi-angular EO big data cubes characterized by the five Vs, namely, volume, variety, veracity, velocity and value. For the sake of readability, this paper is divided in two. Part 1 highlights why AutoCloud+ is important in a broad context of systematic ESA EO Level 2 product generation at the ground segment. The main conclusions of Part 1 are that ESA EO Level 2 information product is regarded as: (I) necessary-but-not-sufficient pre-condition for the yet-unaccomplished dependent problems of semantic content-based image retrieval (SCBIR) and semantics-enabled information/knowledge discovery (SEIKD) in multi-source EO big data cubes, where SCBIR and SEIKD are part-of the GEO-CEOS visionary goal of a yet-unaccomplished Global EO System of Systems (GEOSS). (II) State-of-the-art definition of EO Analysis Ready Data (ARD) format. (III) Horizontal policy, the goal of which is background developments, in a “seamless chain of innovation” needed for a new era of Space Economy 4.0. In the subsequent Part 2, the AutoCloud+ software system requirements specification, information/knowledge representation, system design, algorithm, implementation and preliminary experimental results are presented and discussed.

This article examines a community producing complex space technology. We attempt to highlight which aspects of the community’s activities can help democratize high-tech development while providing a context for similar cases involved in developing and manufacturing nonhigh-technological artefacts. We discuss how this has been made possible by using a technology-determined organizational approach based on the CubeSat open platform infrastructure, blending formal and hands-on education, open communication, specific recruitment and working practices, and a genuine passion for technology. We identify as critical enablers for community-based collaborative development of space technology the open-source architecture standard called CubeSat Design Specifications, the modularization of work in subsystems and between different organizations, and the open and participatory approach work tasks distribution and decision making. Moreover, we argue that the digital/informational aspect of this technology allows the community to implement organizational practices that resemble how open-source movements over the internet produce complex digital artefacts like Wikipedia or Linux. ESTCube can shed light on community-driven complex technology development, providing lessons on what a democratized version of high technology would resemble and how open and digitalized technology can help develop the capacities of a community.

The research presented provides an overview of a 1U+ form factor propulsion system design developed for the Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory (CPCL). This design utilizes a Radiofrequency Electrothermal Thruster (RFET) called Pocket Rocket that can generate 9.30 m/s of delta-V with argon, and 20.2 ± 3 m/s of delta-V with xenon. Due to the demand for advanced mission capabilities in the CubeSat form factor, a need for micro-propulsion systems that can generate between 1 – 1500 m/s of delta-V are necessary. By 2019, Pocket Rocket had been developed to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 and ground tested in a 1U CubeSat form factor that incorporated propellant storage, pressure regulation, RF power and thruster control, as well as two Pocket Rocket thrusters under vacuum, and showcased a thrust of 2.4 mN at a required 10 Wdc of power with Argon propellant. The design focused on ground testing of the thruster and did not incorporate all necessary components for operation of the thruster. Therefore in 2020, a 1U+ Propulsion Module that incorporates Pocket Rocket, the RF amplification PCB, a propellant tank, propellant regulation and delivery, as well as a DC-RF conversion with a PIB, that are all attached to a 2U customer CubeSat for a 3U+ overall form factor. This design was created to increase the TRL level of Pocket Rocket from 5 to 8 by demonstrating drag compensation in a 400 km orbit with a delta-V of 20 ± 3 m/s in the flight configuration. The 1U+ Propulsion Module design included interface and requirements definition, assembly instructions, Concept of Operations (ConOps), as well as structural and thermal analysis of the system. The 1U+ design enhances the capabilities of Pocket Rocket in a 1U+ form factor propulsion system and increases future mission capabilities as well as propulsion system heritage for the CPCL.