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Master's Projects

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Best Practices and Considerations for Planning and Conducting Integration of University CubeSats

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12-01) Rawson, William

This paper seeks to serve as a resource for students entering the integration phase of a CubeSat project by compiling best practices and practical considerations from several projects in the Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The integration phase can be a particular challenge for university CubeSat programs given the value of practical experience in performing these activities and the challenge of managing a student workforce with constant turnover. The topics covered include best practices for planning the integration phase of a project, considerations when performing integration activities, and the characteristics of good assembly procedures. Although the focus is on spacecraft-level integration of CubeSats in a university setting, many of the considerations are applicable outside the academic setting and to subsystem-level integration activities as well. Finally, a case study will be presented illustrating the planning of integration activities for the VISORS mission, a two 6U CubeSat formation-flying mission
Integration and Testing of a 2U Cold-Gas Propulsion System for the SunRISE Mission

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-08-01) Shirazi, Kian E.

The Georgia Tech (GT) Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) is building six identical cold-gas propulsion systems to provide the necessary maneuvering capabilities required by the SunRISE mission. The mission plans to observe low frequency emissions from the Sun by utilizing an array of CubeSats that will formation fly to create a large radio telescope in space. The cold-gas system design is based on the lab’s heritage design used for previous missions, namely BioSentinel, which leverages additive manufacturing to create a highly optimized propulsion system for the CubeSat form factor. The unique system consists of mainly a singular printed multifunctional structure encompassing tanks, plumbing, and nozzles, and utilizes a two-phase propellant to maximize the amount of propellant stored in the restricted volume and hence the total impulse provided by the system. This report provides a brief overview of the system design and its purpose in the SunRISE mission, while detailing the integration process and extensive testing campaign each flight unit goes through before they are delivered for integration with the spacecraft.
Investigation and Analysis into Establishing a Cislunar PNT System and Performing a Soft Landing on the Lunar Surface

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-01) Ramanathan, Keshav

With an expected increase in human activity in and around the lunar environment, Georgia Tech, along with GTRI, has proposed two projects to get involved in this sector. One project focuses on Cislunar PNT, which attempts to establish a satellite architecture for PNT in the Cislunar environment. The other project is Lunar ISRU, which desires to soft land a spacecraft on the lunar surface to perform energy capture resource utilization. For an initial phase I study, the Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) team investigated currently proposed requirements and architectures from literature for a Cislunar PNT architecture. Additionally, analysis was performed to simulate a transfer from a NRHO orbit to the lunar surface through an intermediate low lunar parking orbit for Lunar ISRU. From this research, the goal for a more detailed analysis is to create a navigation algorithm simulation package to apply to the chosen system architecture for Cislunar PNT and achieve an optimal and efficient landing for the Lunar ISRU spacecraft on the Moon’s surface
Design of a Payload Avionics Interface Board for the VISORS (VIrtual SuperOptics with Reconfigurable Swarms) CubeSat Mission

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-12-01) Kolhof, Maximilian

The following paper details the current state of the Payload Avionics Interface Board (PAIB) design for the VISORS mission. It is also intended as a resource for the students who will continue to develop its design into the future and manufacture the first realizations of this design. Context is provided for the entire VISORS mission as well as the need for this specific subsystem and how it contributes to success of the mission. The motivation and requirements for the PAIB are summarized to define the scope of the subsystem. Electrical and mechanical interfaces for the PAIB are discussed. Detail is provided for design decisions and component selection which has been completed thus far, with some guidance provided to aid in additional component selection. Finally, open action items and risks are discussed to set the stage for the next actions which must be completed to ensure development remains on schedule.
Design and Test of an Embedded Systems Controller for a BiModal CubeSat Propulsion System

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-12-01) Manchikanti, Kaushik

The Spectre Propulsion System is an effort to develop a bimodal propulsion system for CubeSats. Spectre aims to use green propellant to both drive a small chemical monopropellant thruster as well as an electrospray system. The project is a collaboration between NASA MSFC, Georgia Tech, and MIT. The propulsion unit hardware and controller are being developed within the GLRG at the SSDL at Georgia Tech, the systems engineering effort is being led by NASA MSFC, and the electrospray system development is being led by MIT SPL As a part of that effort, a low-cost system controller is being developed using commercial-of-the-shelf parts to drive costs down and still be able to withstand the harsh environments of space missions. This paper shows the development and test process of Spectre Propulsion System controller. From the high-level system architecture to the testing of specific hardware, the total controller system development effort will be outlined.
Spectre – Design of a Bimodal Propulsion System

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-12-01) Colon, Brandon J.

Miniaturization of propulsion systems has pushed the capabilities of small satellites by allowing them to perform more complex tasks such as orbital maneuvers and formation flying. Georgia Institute of Technology’s Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) is designing a dual-mode propulsion system referred to as Spectre which will utilize AF-M315E (ASCENT) monopropellant to feed both modes. The propulsion system is capable of performing high thrust maneuvers via a chemical thruster that provides 1 N of thrust force and high efficiency maneuvers with 4 groups of electrospray thrusters. Spec
Design of a Cold Gas Propulsion System for the SunRISE Mission

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-08-01) Skidmore, Logan

NASA’s SunRISE Mission is a formation of six identical 6U CubeSats that will form the first low-frequency space-based radio telescope, studying the radio characteristics of the solar environment in order to yield insights into solar events that affect the safety of Astronauts and spacecraft, as well as systems on Earth. These spacecraft use cold-gas propulsion systems designed by the Space Systems Design Lab to perform delta-V and RCS maneuvers. Utilizing additive manufacturing processes for the main structure and tank, the SunRISE cold-gas propulsion system represents a continued demonstration of the Space Systems Design Lab’s ability to design custom propulsion systems using flight-capable hardware. This report outlines the development of the SunRISE Propulsion System from its initial proposal through its design evolution, concluding in discussion of its future integration and test campaign, as well as the future flight units.
Assembly, Integration, and Testing of a Green Monopropellant Propulsion System for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Mission

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-08-01) Littleton, Lacey M.

Lunar Flashlight is a NASA 6U CubeSat that will orbit the moon. The objective of the mission is to investigate deep, permanently shaded craters for surface level water-ice. The satellite will be equipped with a 2.5U green monopropellant propulsion system (LFPS) capable of injecting the satellite into lunar orbit from a free return trajectory. This propulsion system will enable Lunar Flashlight to be the first CubeSat to be placed into orbit around a body other than Earth and will provide flight heritage for multiple micro-scale propulsion technologies that are on board. Design, manufacturing, integration, and testing of the propulsion system has been a joint effort between the Georgia Tech Space Systems Design Laboratory, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Assembly of any space system requires extreme care, but the small size of the LFPS makes precision integration particularly important. All of the components were subject to tight tolerancing, and most had to be assembled in a Class 100,000 clean room. As parts were successfully integrated, a simultaneous testing campaign was performed to confirm dimensional requirements, establish bursting pressures, check for leaks, ensure electrical liveliness, and determine flight-like performance.
VISORS Mission Design and Spacecraft Layout

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-08-01) Dutta, Abhraneel

The Virtual Super-resolution Optics with Reconfigurable Swarms (VISORS) mission aims to image the solar corona using distributed spacecraft optics. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) held by the bus contractor (Blue Canyon Technologies, BCT) in the summer of 2021 resulted in the spacecraft covered in this report. This document aims to: 1. Introduce the mission to someone unfamiliar with the project 2. Explain why the spacecraft is laid out in its current configuration 3. Detail important work left to be done before the Critical Design Review (CDR) 4. List of important points of contact
An Orbital Capability Analysis of CubeSats Utilizing a Bimodal Monopropellant Propulsion System

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-07-30) Blair, William R.

The Space Systems Design Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology has performed extensive research in the development and integration of green monopropellant systems for small satellites, culminating in the design and assembly of the propulsion system for Lunar Flashlight (LFPS) [3]. The Spectre bimodal propellant system seeks to take the benefits of the LFPS and couple it with an electrospray propulsion system, giving the spacecraft capability to perform high-thrust maneuvers using standard chemical propulsion methods, and to perform efficient, low-thrust maneuvers using the electrospray system [2]. To assist with this design process, a simulation framework was developed in MATLAB to model the dynamics of the spacecraft as well as to determine logic and methods for mission planning. To this end, the vehicles motion was characterized and a performance baseline was established for various orbital maneuvers and mission designs. The development of this simulation, as well as challenges and future work, is discussed herein.