Session
Technical Session VII: 12th Annual Frank J. Redd Student Competition
Abstract
Owing to their low cost, fast development time, and multi-discipline educational purpose, CubeSats have been widely advocated by universities in recent years. However, few have employed three-axis stabilization schemes due mainly to the limitation of power and mass. The PACE, Platform for Attitude Control Experiment for short, is a three-axis stabilizing CubeSat developed at the National Cheng Kung University. It is a 20x10x10 cm3 double cube satellite weight less than 2-kg. A miniature momentum wheel is employed to achieve stability alone the pitch (orbit normal) axis. Magnetic coils are used to generate control torques to stabilize roll and yaw axes. The attitude sensors used in the design include a three-axis magnetometer, a three-axis gyro, and coarse sun sensors. In addition, the development of the PACE exploits MEMS technology in the design and fabrication of the payload and sensors. MEMS temperature sensors are used as payloads for internal and external temperature monitoring. Coarse sun sensors based on MEMS technology are designed and fabricated to facilitate attitude determination and control. The paper delineates the PACE mission and subsystems including structure mechanism, thermal control, on-board computer, telemetry, as well as ground station with the emphasis on the attitude control and MEMS payload.
Presentation Slides
Platform for Attitude Control Experiment (PACE): An Experimental Three-Axis Stabilized CubeSat
Owing to their low cost, fast development time, and multi-discipline educational purpose, CubeSats have been widely advocated by universities in recent years. However, few have employed three-axis stabilization schemes due mainly to the limitation of power and mass. The PACE, Platform for Attitude Control Experiment for short, is a three-axis stabilizing CubeSat developed at the National Cheng Kung University. It is a 20x10x10 cm3 double cube satellite weight less than 2-kg. A miniature momentum wheel is employed to achieve stability alone the pitch (orbit normal) axis. Magnetic coils are used to generate control torques to stabilize roll and yaw axes. The attitude sensors used in the design include a three-axis magnetometer, a three-axis gyro, and coarse sun sensors. In addition, the development of the PACE exploits MEMS technology in the design and fabrication of the payload and sensors. MEMS temperature sensors are used as payloads for internal and external temperature monitoring. Coarse sun sensors based on MEMS technology are designed and fabricated to facilitate attitude determination and control. The paper delineates the PACE mission and subsystems including structure mechanism, thermal control, on-board computer, telemetry, as well as ground station with the emphasis on the attitude control and MEMS payload.
