Nanosatellite fabrication and analysis

The advancements in technologies used in the aerospace industry have allowed universities to experiment with and develop small-scale satellites. Universities are taking advantage of the relatively low development costs of nanosatellite programs to give students experience in the field of spacecraft design. The purpose of Santa Clara University\u27s team, Nanosatellite Fabrication and Analysis, is to create a process to expedite the design, analysis, and fabrication phase of nanosatellite structures for students working on future satellite missions. The objective is to design four baseline nanosatellite structures to accommodate a range of potential missions where the designs are simple enough to be completely fabricated by students utilizing only the tools found in the Santa Clara University\u27s machine lab. Finite element analysis is conducted to ensure the designs meet NASA standards for natural frequency and that it can survive the forces it is subjected to during a launch. SatTherm, an easy to use thermal analysis tool for small spacecrafts, was used to conduct initial thermal simulations of the nanosatellite to determine the type of thermal components that will work for future missions. The success of team Nanosatellite Fabrication and Analysis proves that students can fabricate the structural frame of a nanosatellite using only the tools available in SCU\u27s machine lab

The photon pair source that survived a rocket explosion

We report on the performance of a compact photon pair source that was recovered intact from a failed space launch. The source had been embedded in a nanosatellite and was designed to perform pathfinder experiments leading to global quantum communication networks using spacecraft. Despite the launch vehicle explosion soon after takeoff?, the nanosatellite was successfully retrieved from the accident site and the source within it was found to be fully operational. We describe the assembly technique for the rugged source. Post-recovery data is compared to baseline measurements collected before the launch attempt and no degradation in brightness or polarization correlation was observed. The survival of the source through an extreme environment provides strong evidence that it is possible to engineer rugged quantum optical systems

CUSTARD (Cranfield University Space Technology Advanced Research Demonstrator) - A Micro-System Technology Demonstrator Nanosatellite. Summary of the Group Design Project MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering. 1999-2000, Cranfield University

CUSTARD (Cranfield University Space Technology And Research Demonstrator) was the group design project for students of the MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering for the Academic Year 1999/2000 at Cranfield University. The project involved the initial design of a nanosatellite to be used as a technology demonstrator for microsystem technology (MST) in space. The students worked together as one group (organised into several subgroups, e.g. system, mechanical), with each student responsible for a set of work packages. The nanosatellite designed had a mass of 4 kg, lifetime of 3 months in low Earth orbit, coarse 3-axis attitude control (no orbit control), and was capable of carrying up to 1 kg of payload. The electrical power available was 18 W (peak). Assuming a single X-band ground station at RAL (UK), a data rate of up to 1 M bit s-1 for about 3000 s per day is possible. The payloads proposed are a microgravity laboratory and a formation flying experiment. The report summarises the results of the project and includes executive summaries from all team members. Further information and summaries of the full reports are available from the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield University

Deploying quantum light sources on nanosatellites II: lessons and perspectives on CubeSat spacecraft

To enable space-based quantum key distribution proposals the Centre for Quantum Technologies is developing a source of entangled photons ruggedized to survive deployment in space and greatly miniaturised so that it conforms to the strict form factor and power requirements of a 1U CubeSat. The Small Photon Entangling Quantum System is an integrated instrument where the pump, photon pair source and detectors are combined within a single optical tray and electronics package that is no larger than 10 cm x 10 cm x 3 cm. This footprint enables the instrument to be placed onboard nanosatellites or the CubeLab structure aboard the International Space Station. We will discuss the challenges and future prospects of CubeSat-based missions.Comment: Submitted to SPIE Quantum Information Science and Technology. Paper number 9648-4

Space qualified nanosatellite electronics platform for photon pair experiments

We report the design and implementation of a complete electronics platform for conducting a quantum optics experiment that will be operated on board a 1U CubeSat (a 10 x 10 x 10 cm satellite). The quantum optics experiment is designed to produce polarization-entangled photon pairs using non-linear optical crystals and requires opto-electronic components such as a pump laser, single photon detectors and liquid crystal based polarization rotators in addition to passive optical elements. The platform provides mechanical support for the optical assembly. It also communicates autonomously with the host satellite to provide experiment data for transmission to a ground station. A limited number of commands can be transmitted from ground to the platform enabling it to switch experimental modes. This platform requires less than 1.5W for all operations, and is space qualified. The implementation of this electronics platform is a major step on the road to operating quantum communication experiments using nanosatellites.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figure

The BRITE-Constellation Nanosatellite Space Mission And Its First Scientific Results

The BRIght Target Explorer (BRITE) Constellation is the first nanosatellite mission applied to astrophysical research. Five satellites in low-Earth orbits perform precise optical two-colour photometry of the brightest stars in the night sky. BRITE is naturally well suited for variability studies of hot stars. This contribution describes the basic outline of the mission and some initial problems that needed to be overcome. Some information on BRITE data products, how to access them, and how to join their scientific exploration is provided. Finally, a brief summary of the first scientific results obtained by BRITE is given.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of "Seismology of the Sun and the Distant Stars 2016. Using Today's Successes to Prepare the Future. Joint TASC2/KASC9 Workshop - SPACEINN/HELAS8 Conference", ed. M. J. P. F. G. Monteir