Design of an Efficient and Low Cost Attitude Control System for a Nanosatellite

Paper number

IAC-17,B2,3,4,x40548

Author

Mr. Pierre Daligault, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Coauthor

Mr. Hugo Paquet, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Coauthor

Mr. Antoine Morin, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Coauthor

Dr. David Saussie, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Coauthor

Prof. Giovanni Beltrame, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Year

2017

Abstract

Space has never been so accessible since nanosatellite technologies and production got cheaper,  allowing the emergence of countless CubeSat projects directed by universities and companies. Each spacecraft is associated to specific missions which require an efficient and reliable attitude control system. This system shall be designed to meet all sub-systems requirements, especially those concerning the payload.

There are a lot of possibilities for an Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), but most of them are expensive. For this reason, the ADCS that will be used aboard the 3 units CubeSat developed by PolyOrbite, a student society at Polytechnique Montréal, is being designed so that it will fit the requirements for one of the spacecraft’s main mission: the electrospray thruster for deorbiting purposes. Indeed, because of the low thrust, which is approximately 600 $\mu$N, this technology needs precise attitude control to optimize the consumption of the propellant.

In this paper, we present a low cost and efficient design for the satellite attitude control  which is based on a four reaction wheel system. While having more complexity than the more commonly used three reaction wheels configuration, our preliminary results show that it is possible to obtain at the same time a higher reliability, a better  precision and a lower power consumption. 

With our technology in hand, researchers and students projects around the globe will be able  to realize a high performance and reliable control system at a low cost to ensure the success of their specific Cubesat missions.

Abstract document

IAC-17,B2,3,4,x40548.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)