Deployable telescope for 6U CubeSat
Project Motivation
CubeSats are increasingly being used in the university, scientific communities and commercial companies for various applications ranging from weather observation, earth observation and astronomy. There is great interest to develop high-quality nanosatellite image applications to support earth observation missions, particularly deployable optics that improve the optical capabilities of CubeSats while occupying smaller volumes than conventional fixed-length telescopes, given the dimensional constraints of CubeSats.
In this project, a deployment mechanism for a deployable Cassegrain telescope was developed for use in a standard 6U CubeSat to facilitate satellite miniaturization. In particular, the project focused on increasing the storage efficiency of the telescope payload in the satellite during launch.
Design Solution
The proposed deployment mechanism is a single-stage deployable truss mechanism which consists of an upper and lower panel on which the secondary and primary mirrors are attached, respectively. The lower panel is attached to base supports which are to be secured onto the CubeSat structure. The upper panel is connected to the lower panel by four linkage assemblies, each of which contains connector trusses linked by a torsion spring.
During the satellite's launch phase, the telescope would remain in its stowed configuration, wherein the upper panel is held close to the lower panel in order to fit in the dimensional constraints of the satellite payload bay. Once the satellite is in orbit, release mechanisms are activated which triggers deployment. The torsion springs in the hinges provide the restoring force needed for deployment. After deployment, the upper panel would be fully extended and the necessary distance between the primary and secondary mirrors would be created for a long telescope focal length to be achieved. The telescope aperture diameter is 152 mm, and the deployable structure fits within the 4U (200 x 200 x 100 mm) payload bay of a 6U (300 x 200 x 100 mm) CubeSat.
Project Team
Student:
- Ashwin Kumaar Raviraj (Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2022)
Supervisors:
- Dr Luo Sha
- Mr Soh Eng Keng (ek.soh@nus.edu.sg)
- Mr Eugene Ee (wheee@nus.edu.sg)