CUBESAT DEORBITING DEVICE

FINAL PRESENTATION

Joshua LaubJake Tynis

Lindsey AndrewsAdvisor: Dr. Robert Ash

Background

Small, lightweight satellites Orbital energies as high

as 29 MJ! NASA/IADC (UN)

Guideline: Orbital lifetime of 25 years or less

Our Objective: Demonstrate proof of concept deorbiting device using inflation

Where We Are Thus Far

We have designed and fabricated the inflatable container

Sourced materials for constructing a flight ready prototype

Procured the necessary individual components to assemble a proof of concept prototype

Analyzed the orbit with STK orbital software to confirm the inflatable size necessary

Conducted inflation tests to develop an effective folding technique

Container Lid

Further testing of the integrated product requires a simulation of the rupturing membrane

Must provide temporary rigidity to restrain stowed inflatable, while allow access to inflation port

Must also cleanly tear and not restrict inflation

10 cm

4 cm

Final Deployment Test

Conducted in the Physics Instrumentation Lab

VIDEO

Bonus Objectives

Remote control valve actuation More accurately simulates the actual initiation

method On orbit initiation would be triggered from

the main CubeSat bus

Bonus Objectives

Vacuum chamber Physics Department vacuum chamber is

currently undergoing a retrofit This will allow for vacuum testing in

pressures as low as less than 1 millibar (Patm = 1013.5 millibar)

Additionally, this vacuum chamber can be utilized by the Physics Department for various other student projects

CostsPrototypeMaterial Cost

2 Mil Mylar $60

Contact Cement $10 Gas Cylinder (from lab) $0

Lab air $0 Aluminum (from stock) $0

Valve (Clippard) $48

Circuit board $5

Vacuum Chamber (Testing) $0

Microcontroller (Testing) $90

Misc. $20

Net cost: $233

Space-Qualified DesignMaterial Cost Mass (g)Upilex-S polyimide film (50µm) $75 126

Elastosil S $15 0.004

Aluminum 6061-T6 $15 2.13

SUVA-236fa refrigerant unknown 1.77Aluminum 6061-T6 (from stock) $0 2.13Upilex-S polyimide film (50µm)

incl. above 0.74

Dyneema $3 0.075

Clippard ≥ $70Around 11 g

Misc. $15  

CostNet mass (g)

$193 143.849

Scheduling

We had projected we would complete the project 4/21/2011

The final test was conducted 4/20/2011 ( ! )

Future Progress: Where Do We Go From Here?

Investigation of different folding methods Folding affects speed and ease of inflation

Low pressure deployments Accurately simulate operational

environment Elaborate on the influence of pressure on

membrane rupture Scaling down of valve Development of custom fabricated

inflatable Refinement of rupturing membrane

Conclusions

Goals were met Extras

Remote valve actuation Vacuum chamber for future testing

Challenges remain Packaging Custom inflatable Scaling down of valve

Sources 1. California Polytechnic, State University. CubeSat Design Specification Rev.12. 2. Pumpkin, Inc. CubeSat Kit. [Online] 2008. http://www.cubesatkit.com/. 3. R. Janovsky, M. Kassebom, H. Lubberstedt, O. Romberg. END-OF-LIFE DE-ORBITING

Strategies for Satellites. Bremen : OHB System AG, 2002. 4. Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Office

for Outer Space Affairs. Vienna : United Nations, 2010. 5. IADC. Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines. s.l. : IADC, 2007. Standard. 6. Development of a Generic Inflatable De-Orbit Device for CubeSats. D.C. Maessen, E.D. van

Breukelen, B.T.C. Zandbergen, O.K. Bergsma. 7. Design Considerations for CubeSat Inflatable Deorbit Devices in Low Earth Orbit. Lokcu, Eser.

2010, Old Dominion University. 8. DuPont. Summary of Properties for Kapton Polymide Films. [Online]

http://www2.dupont.com/Kapton/en_US/assets/downloads/pdf/summaryofprop.pdf. 9. Bradford Engineering. Sold Propellant Cool Gas Generator. [Online] 2006.

http://www.bradford-space.com/pdf/be_datasheet_spcgg_sep2006.pdf. 10. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. www.Clippard.com. [Online] 2011. 11. Bate, Roger R, Mueller, Donald D and White, Jerry E. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics.

New York : Dover Publications, Inc., 1971. 12. Chattopadhyay, Somnath. Pressure Vessels: Design and Practice. Boca Raton : CRC, 2005. 13. Wacker Chemie AG. [Online] [Cited: December 1, 2010.]

http://www.wacker.com/cms/en/products-markets/trademarks/elastosil/elastosil.jsp. 14. RobotShop. [Online] [Cited: November 30, 2010.] http://www.robotshop.com/. 15. McMaster Carr. [Online] [Cited: November 27, 2010.]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#aluminum/=a2cdo0.

Thank you for your time!

Questions?