Session
Pre-Conference Poster Session I
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
BeaverCube is a 3U CubeSat in development by the Space Systems Development capstone class and STARLab at MIT. The satellite will serve as a testing platform for an electrospray thruster developed by AccionSystems and host a payload with a mvBlueFox visual imaging camera and two FLIR Boson infrared cameras. The BeaverCube Flight Computer (BFC) is designed to serve as the power and data interface for the entire CubeSat bus, and incorporates a Raspberry Pi compute module as the central processor. Key design objectives for the BFC include a novel fault detection, isolation and response (FDIR) system to improve CubeSat reliability, the capability to interface with devices and power on the bus through standardized connectors, and a high data rate imaging payload. The outcome of this design is a flight computer able to recover autonomously (without ground intervention) from software faults or non-destructive hardware failures within 90 seconds. Two onboard computers and four data storage cards provide mission continuity if a destructive event occurs. The BFC supports several common data protocols including USB 2.0 for rapid payload data transfer, which allows the BFC to be readily integrated into many CubeSat systems. The BFC open-source repository will be made public following testing on the first revision prototype so this board design is available for future CubeSat missions.
Open-Source Flight Computer Platform for CubeSats
Utah State University, Logan, UT
BeaverCube is a 3U CubeSat in development by the Space Systems Development capstone class and STARLab at MIT. The satellite will serve as a testing platform for an electrospray thruster developed by AccionSystems and host a payload with a mvBlueFox visual imaging camera and two FLIR Boson infrared cameras. The BeaverCube Flight Computer (BFC) is designed to serve as the power and data interface for the entire CubeSat bus, and incorporates a Raspberry Pi compute module as the central processor. Key design objectives for the BFC include a novel fault detection, isolation and response (FDIR) system to improve CubeSat reliability, the capability to interface with devices and power on the bus through standardized connectors, and a high data rate imaging payload. The outcome of this design is a flight computer able to recover autonomously (without ground intervention) from software faults or non-destructive hardware failures within 90 seconds. Two onboard computers and four data storage cards provide mission continuity if a destructive event occurs. The BFC supports several common data protocols including USB 2.0 for rapid payload data transfer, which allows the BFC to be readily integrated into many CubeSat systems. The BFC open-source repository will be made public following testing on the first revision prototype so this board design is available for future CubeSat missions.
