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Special Issue "Advanced Small Satellite Technology"

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A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Astronautics & Space Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2023 | Viewed by 12960

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Prof. Dr. Hyun-Ung Oh

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School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Korea Aerospace University, 76, Hanggongdaehak-ro, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si 10540, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: satellite and payload thermomechanical system; cube satellite system and relevant technologies; vibration control for space applications; smart materials and structures for space applications; spaceborne mechanism; on-orbit thermal design and control; multi-functional structure; thermo-mechanical design of spaceborne electronics
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Dear Colleagues,

Small satellites based on the “New Space” paradigm usually require innovative technologies for achieving highly advanced mission by using small spacecrafts that are lightweight and possess limited volume. They can be built to be small in order to reduce large economic launch costs and developmental costs associated with the construction of mega-constellations. Recently, technical challenges in the construction of small satellite systems constitute one of the interesting technical topics. Future small satellite systems usually require innovative power, attitude control, communication, propulsion, onboard computation, payload systems and their relevant technologies.

This Special Issue encompasses all aspects of small satellite’s relevant technologies including micro-class, nano-class and pico-class satellites. The scope of the Special Issue covers technical topics such as advanced small satellite missions and system and subsystem technologies for achieving novel, smart and light-weight satellite systems. The technical topics of EO (electro-optics), IR (infrared), SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and other payload systems are also encouraged for submission in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Hyun-Ung Oh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

new space paradigm
small satellite system
payload system

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Disturbance Compensation Sliding Mode Control for Solar Array Drive Assembly System

and

Aerospace 2023, 10(6), 501; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10060501 - 25 May 2023

Viewed by 200

Abstract

In this study, a dynamic model of a solar array drive system that includes a pair of flexible solar arrays with a central rigid shaft and a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) was developed, and a disturbance compensation sliding mode control (DCSMC) strategy was proposed to realize the speed smoothing and vibration suppression control of the system. The continuous nonlinear dynamic equation of the system was derived from Hamilton’s principle, and its linearized form was combined with the boundary conditions to obtain its natural frequency and global mode. The design of the DCSMC strategy was based on the solar array drive assembly (SADA) electromechanical dynamics model of the PMSM direct drive. An extended state observer (ESO) was used to estimate any system disturbances, and the signal was fed forward to sliding mode control (SMC) based on the varying gain saturation reaching law (VGSRL). To verify the validity of the model, its results were compared with those obtained using commercial finite element software. The numerical results showed that the SADA system with the DCSMC strategy outperformed the traditional proportional–integral (PI) control and SMC systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

Effect of Working Current on C12A7 Hollow Cathode

and

Aerospace 2023, 10(4), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10040339 - 29 Mar 2023

Viewed by 664

Abstract

The C12A7 hollow cathode is expected to usher in a new generation of hollow cathodes because of its low work function and chemical stability. In order to reduce the emission melting and degradation caused by the overheating of this new cathode, different working currents of the C12A7 hollow cathode were studied in this work. The working currents ranged from 1 A to 20 A. The results show that the C12A7 hollow cathode works well under the condition of a low current, but it is unstable under high current condition. A simulation with the COMSOL internal working environment showed that enlarging the cathode orifice size is beneficial to reduce the risk of overheating of the electride emitter. The C12A7 hollow cathode shows a voltage transition phenomenon under a high operating current. The plasma plume state at the cathode outlet gradually changes from bright violet to dark yellow. The emitter also melts at high temperatures under high-current conditions. Its short lifetime makes the C12A7 hollow cathode difficult to apply in practical application scenarios under high-current conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

LoRaWAN CubeSat with an Adaptive Data Rate: An Experimental Analysis of Path Loss Link Margin

Syed Zafar Abbas Mehdi

Aiffah Mohd Ali

and

Safiah Zulkifli

Aerospace 2023, 10(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10010053 - 04 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1456

Abstract

One of the challenges of the Internet of Things (IoT) is to provide connectivity to devices around the globe. Long Range (LoRa) is one of the most practical technologies due to its low-power and long-range capabilities to be used by the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) CubeSat. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) in receiving uplink messages from ground sensor nodes at an altitude of 550 km with a maximum elevation angle of 0°. An Adaptive Data Rate (ADR) is applied for the dynamic signal reception with respect to receiving signal strength. In this study, the path loss is simulated using attenuation levels from 30–150 dB to ensure that the signal connectivity success rate is at a minimum elevation angle and to perform the link analysis under various conditions. The results show that the LoRaWAN signals are successfully received with an SNR of −21 at the 150 dB attenuation from the end nodes because of its spread-spectrum technique which allows the system to detect signals under the noise floor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

Quartz Crystal Microbalances for Space: Design and Testing of a 3D Printed Quasi-Kinematic Support

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Aerospace 2023, 10(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10010042 - 02 Jan 2023

Viewed by 729

Abstract

Outgassing or thruster’s generated contaminants are critical for optical surfaces and optical payloads because scientific measurements and, in general, the performances can be degraded or jeopardized by uncontrolled contamination. This is a well-known issue in space technology that is demonstrated by the growing usage of quartz crystal microbalances as a solution for measuring material outgassing properties data and characterizing the on-orbit contamination environment. Operation in space requires compatibility with critical requirements, especially the mechanical and thermal environments to be faced throughout the mission. This work provides the design of a holding structure based on 3D printing technology conceived to meet the environmental characteristics of space application, and in particular, to face harsh mechanical and thermal environments. A kinematic mounting has been conceived to grant compatibility with a large temperature range, and it has been designed by finite element methods to overcome loading during the launch phases and cope with a temperature working range down to cryogenic temperatures. Qualification in such environments has been performed on a mockup by testing a prototype of the holding assembly between −110

^{\circ}

C and 110

^{\circ}

C and allowing verification of the mechanical resistance and stability of the electrical contacts for the embedded heater and sensor in that temperature range. Moreover, mechanical testing in a random environment characterized by an RMS acceleration level of 500 m/s² and excitation frequency from 20 to 2000 Hz was successfully performed. The testing activity allowed for validation of the proposed design and opened the road to the possible implementation of the proposed design for future flight opportunities, also onboard micro or nanosatellites. Moreover, exploiting the manufacturing technology, the proposed design can implement an easy assembling and mounting of the holding system. At the same time, 3D printing provides a cost-effective solution even for small series production for ground applications, like monitoring the contaminants in thermo-vacuum chambers or clean rooms, or depositions chambers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

Performance Investigation of Superplastic Shape Memory Alloy-Based Vibration Isolator for X-Band Active Small SAR Satellite of S-STEP under Acoustic and Random Vibration Environments

and

Aerospace 2022, 9(11), 642; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9110642 - 24 Oct 2022

Viewed by 920

Abstract

In a launch environment, all satellites are subjected to severe random vibration and acoustic loads owing to rocket separation, airflow, and injection/combustion of the fuel. Structural vibrations induced by mechanical loads cause the malfunction of vibration-sensitive components in a satellite, leading to failures during the launch process or an on-orbit mission. Therefore, in this study, a shape memory alloy-based vibration isolator was used on the connection between the launch vehicle and satellite to reduce the vibration transmission to a satellite. The vibration isolator exhibited a high performance in the vibration isolation, owing to the dynamic properties of super-elasticity and high damping. The vibration-reduction performance of the vibration isolator was experimentally verified using random vibration and acoustic tests in a structural thermal model of the satellite developed in the synthetic aperture radar technology experimental project. Owing to the super-elasticity and high attenuation characteristics of the vibration isolator, it was possible to significantly reduce the random vibration of the satellite in the launch environment. Although the mechanical load of the acoustic test mainly excited the antenna on the upper side of the satellite rather than the bottom side, the results of the acoustic test showed the same trend as the random vibration test. From this perspective, the vibration isolator can contribute to saving the costs required for satellite development. These advantages have made it possible to develop satellites according to the new space paradigm, which is a trend in the space industry worldwide. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

Thermal Design of Blackbody for On-Board Calibration of Spaceborne Infrared Imaging Sensor

and

Aerospace 2022, 9(5), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9050268 - 16 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1550

Abstract

In this study, we propose a thermal design for an on-board blackbody (BB) for spaceborne infrared (IR) sensor calibration. The main function of the on-board BB is to provide highly uniform and precise radiation temperature reference sources from 0 °C to 40 °C during the calibration of the IR sensor. To meet the functional requirements of BB, a BB thermal design using a heater to heat the BB during sensor calibration and heat pipes to transfer residual heat to the radiator after calibration is proposed and investigated both numerically and experimentally. The main features of the proposed thermal design are a symmetric temperature gradient on the BB surface with less than 1 K temperature uniformity, ease of temperature sensor implementation to estimate the representative surface temperature of the BB, a stable thermal interface between the heat pipes and BB, and a fail-safe function under one heat pipe failure. The thermal control performance of the BB is investigated via in-orbit thermal analysis, and its effectiveness is verified via a heat-up test of the BB under ambient conditions. These results indicate that the temperature gradient on the BB surface was obtained at less than 1 K, and the representative surface temperature could be estimated with an accuracy of 0.005 °C via the temperature sensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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Open AccessArticle

Design and Performance of X-Band SAR Payload for 80 kg Class Flat-Panel-Type Microsatellite Based on Active Phased Array Antenna

and

Aerospace 2022, 9(4), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9040213 - 13 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4437

Abstract

The small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology experimental project (S-STEP) mission aims to develop an innovative spaceborne SAR microsatellite as a constellation of 32 microsatellites featuring a high-resolution stripmap mode of 1 m. The S-STEP is a spaceborne SAR microsatellite technology demonstration program in which innovative approaches have been proposed and investigated for SAR payload system designs for improving the development speed, affordability, size and weight parameters, and quality of SAR satellite systems. In this study, the major design approach includes a bus–payload integrated flat-panel-type SAR payload based on an active phased-array antenna. This study conducted an SAR image performance analysis considering the mission requirements to validate the feasibility of the innovative SAR payload design of the S-STEP. These performance analysis results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SAR payload design approach under the new space paradigm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Small Satellite Technology)

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