Development of attitude controllers and actuators for a solar sail cubesat

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: CubeSats are small, lightweight satellites which are often used by academic institutionsdue to their application potential and low cost. Because of their size and weight, lesspowerful attitude controllers, such as solar sails, can be used.In 2010, the Japanese satellite, Ikaros, was launched to illustrate the usage of solar sailsas a propulsion system. Similarly, by exploiting the solar radiation pressure, it is possibleto use a solar sail, together with three magnetorquers, to achieve 3-axis attitude controlof a 3-unit CubeSat.Simulations are required to demonstrate the attitude control of a sun-synchronous, lowEarth orbit CubeSat using a solar sail. To allow the adjustment of the solar sail, and itsresulting torque, a mechanical structure is required which can be used to position thesail within two orthogonal axes. Although the magnetorquers and solar sail are sufficientto achieve 3-axis attitude control, the addition of a reaction wheel can be implementedin an attempt to improve this control.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University