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Design, Validation, And Verification Of The Cal Poly Educational Cubesat Kit Structure, Nicholas B. Snyder Jun 2020

Design, Validation, And Verification Of The Cal Poly Educational Cubesat Kit Structure, Nicholas B. Snyder

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the development of a structure for use in an educational CubeSat kit is explored. The potential uses of this kit include augmenting existing curricula with aspects of hands on learning, developing new ways of training students on proper space systems engineering practices, and overall contributing to academic capacity building at Cal Poly and its collaborators. The design improves on existing CubeSat kit structures by increasing accessibility to internal components by implementing a modular backplane system, as well as adding the ability to be environmentally tested. Manufacturing of the structure is completed with both additive (Fused Deposition Modeling …


Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager Phase Iii, Bradley D. Albright, Nicolas A. Armenta, Colin W. Harrop Jun 2020

Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager Phase Iii, Bradley D. Albright, Nicolas A. Armenta, Colin W. Harrop

Mechanical Engineering

This document details the work to date, June 9, 2020, done by the Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering senior project team, Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager: Phase III (MUVI III), sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley – Space Sciences Laboratory (UCB SSL). MUVI III is the third senior project team of an ongoing design, MUVI: the prototype of a 2U sized CubeSat intended to capture aurora images in the ionosphere. The first team, MUVI I, finished development of the UV imager. The second team, MUVI II, designed the mirror mounting and deployable door mechanisms. The goal of MUVI phase III is to …


Performance Enhancement And Characterization Of An Electromagnetic Railgun, Paul M. Gilles Dec 2019

Performance Enhancement And Characterization Of An Electromagnetic Railgun, Paul M. Gilles

Master's Theses

Collision with orbital debris poses a serious threat to spacecraft and astronauts. Hypervelocity impacts resulting from collisions mean that objects with a mass less than 1g can cause mission-ending damage to spacecraft. A means of shielding spacecraft against collisions is necessary. A means of testing candidate shielding methods for their efficacy in mitigating hypervelocity impacts is therefore also necessary. Cal Poly’s Electromagnetic Railgun was designed with the goal of creating a laboratory system capable of simulating hypervelocity (≥ 3 km/s) impacts. Due to several factors, the system was not previously capable of high-velocity (≥ 1 km/s) tests. A deficient projectile …


The Effects Of Atomic Oxygen On Patch Antenna Performance And Lifetime, Max J. Barta Jul 2019

The Effects Of Atomic Oxygen On Patch Antenna Performance And Lifetime, Max J. Barta

Master's Theses

The space environment is a volatile and challenging place for satellites to survive in. For Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites, atomic oxygen (AO) is a constant corrosive effect that degrades the outer surface of satellites over long durations. Atomic oxygen exists in the atmosphere between 180 and 675 km and has a relatively high energy at 4.5 eV, which allows AO to break molecular bonds in materials on the surfaces of spacecraft. As the number and complexity of CubeSat missions increase, there is an increased risk that AO degradation on commercial off the shelf parts (COTS), such as antenna, could …


Redesign Of Cubesat For Beam Charging, Kuba Preis Jun 2019

Redesign Of Cubesat For Beam Charging, Kuba Preis

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper is intended to be a study in the applications of the design freedom granted by additive manufacture in the design of a 1U CubeSat frame. The main loads experienced by a CubeSat are structural (during launch) and thermal (solar radiation). Beam charging is an emerging technology which involves charging a CubeSat using a laser beam. In this paper, a CubeSat frame was redesigned to account for the structural loads induced during launch and the thermal loads induced when beam charging. The thermal, weight, design, and structural requirements for a new CubeSat design were derived. The 1U CubeSat frame …


Ultraviolet Imager Application For A Cube Satellite, Jason Grillo, Troy Hajjar, Brady Hill Dec 2018

Ultraviolet Imager Application For A Cube Satellite, Jason Grillo, Troy Hajjar, Brady Hill

Mechanical Engineering

This document serves as the final design review (FDR) report for the 2018 Cal Poly CubeSat Ultraviolet Imager senior project, sponsored by UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratories (SSL). SSL wants to monitor the ionosphere above Earth to gain a better understanding of its properties and particle interactions. Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imaging is a good way to obtain high quality images of the ionosphere and the Earth's auroras, and advancement in optic technologies have made cube satellites (CubeSats) an ideal vessel for a FUV imager, as they are relatively low-cost, lightweight, and can be repeatedly deployed. These CubeSat FUV imagers could …


Techedsat 7 And 8-Nasa Missions For Earth Observation, Andrew Pham Sep 2018

Techedsat 7 And 8-Nasa Missions For Earth Observation, Andrew Pham

STAR Program Research Presentations

Big results can come from small satellites, and Technology Educational Satellite 8 or TES-8 is the latest small satellite in the TechEdSat series from NASA Ames Research Center. TechEdSat is a collaborative program, in which advanced university students have a chance to work directly with researchers on NASA Space Projects. Thanks to the assistance of students from several universities around the country every year, TechEdSat has helped NASA develop Nano-satellite technologies and evaluate new ideas for future spacecraft. TES-8 is the eighth satellite of the continuing TechEdSat series. On December 01, 2018 TES-8 followed a Commercial Resupply Service mission to …


Modification Of A Ground Based Atomic Oxygen Simulation Apparatus To Accommodate Three Dimensional Specimens, Charles Ward Jun 2018

Modification Of A Ground Based Atomic Oxygen Simulation Apparatus To Accommodate Three Dimensional Specimens, Charles Ward

Master's Theses

The space environment presents various challenges when designing systems and selecting materials for applications beyond Earth’s atmosphere. For mission success, these challenges must be considered. One of the detrimental aspects of the space en- vironment is Atomic Oxygen, AO. Only present in harmful quantities in Lower Earth Orbit, LEO, AO causes significant damage to materials by breaking molecular bonds. California Polytechnic State University’s, Cal Poly’s, space environments laboratory features an apparatus capable of simulating this environment. Very thin or short samples were tested to observe the mass loss due to erosion of the sample material. Recent modifications to the system …


Structural Micrometeoroid And Radiation Shielding For Interplanetary Spacecraft, Jared Allen Ruekberg Jun 2015

Structural Micrometeoroid And Radiation Shielding For Interplanetary Spacecraft, Jared Allen Ruekberg

Master's Theses

This paper focused on two significant space forces that can affect the success of a spacecraft: the radiation and micrometeoroid environments. Both are looked at in the context of the region of space between Earth and Mars. The goal was create reference environments, to provide context to results of environmental modeling, and to provide recommendations to assist in early design decisions of interplanetary spacecraft. The radiation section of this report used NASA's OLTARIS program to generate data for analysis. The area of focus was on the radiation effects for crewed missions, therefore effective dose equivalent was the metric used to …


Improving And Expanding The Capabilities Of The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, David Pignatelli Oct 2014

Improving And Expanding The Capabilities Of The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, David Pignatelli

Master's Theses

The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) has undergone a series of revisions over the years. The latest revision, described in this Master’s Thesis, incorporates new capabilities like EMI shielding, an inert gas purge system, and an electrical interface to the CubeSats after they are integrated into the P-POD. Additionally, some mass reduction modifications are made to the P-POD, while its overall strength is increased. The P-POD inert gas purge system successfully flew, on a previous revision P-POD. The P-POD components are analyzed to a set of dynamic loads for qualification, and successfully undergoes random vibration qualification testing. The P-POD encounters some …


Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Emr Based Orbital Debris Impact Testing Platform, Jeffrey J. Maniglia Jr. Jun 2013

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Emr Based Orbital Debris Impact Testing Platform, Jeffrey J. Maniglia Jr.

Master's Theses

This paper describes the changes made from Cal Poly’s initial railgun system, the Mk. 1 railgun, to the Mk. 1.1 system, as well as the design, fabrication, and testing of a newer and larger Mk. 2 railgun system. The Mk. 1.1 system is developed as a more efficient alteration of the original Mk. 1 system, but is found to be defective due to hardware deficiencies and failure, as well as unforeseen efficiency losses. A Mk. 2 system is developed and built around donated hardware from the Naval Postgraduate School. The Mk. 2 system strove to implement an efficient, augmented, electromagnetic …


Development Of A Pyrotechnic Shock Simulation Apparatus For Spacecraft Applications, Joseph Binder, Matthew Mccarty, Chris Rasmussen Jun 2012

Development Of A Pyrotechnic Shock Simulation Apparatus For Spacecraft Applications, Joseph Binder, Matthew Mccarty, Chris Rasmussen

Aerospace Engineering

This report details the research, design, construction, and testing of a pyrotechnic shock simulation apparatus for spacecraft applications. The apparatus was developed to be used in the Space Environments Lab at California Polytechnic State University. It will be used for testing spacecraft components with dimensions up to 24”x12”x12” as well as CubeSats. Additionally, it may be used as an instructional or demonstrational tool in the Aerospace Department’s space environments course. The apparatus functions by way of mechanical impact of an approximately 20 lb stainless steel swinging hammer. Tests were performed to verify the simulator’s functionality. Suggestions for improvement and further …


Thermal Vacuum Integration For Cal Poly's Space Environments Laboratory, Chelsea Barackman, Steven Jackowski Jun 2012

Thermal Vacuum Integration For Cal Poly's Space Environments Laboratory, Chelsea Barackman, Steven Jackowski

Aerospace Engineering

The purpose of the senior project is to construct a thermal vacuum by utilizing a preexisting vacuum chamber in the Space Environments Lab, and a donated Advanced Thermal Sciences (ATS) chiller. While a thermal vacuum is already available on campus, building one for the Space Environments Lab would grant undergraduates access to the equipment, allowing a much better understanding of testing methods and procedures in use by the aerospace industry. This paper explains the design and analysis of the thermal vacuum (T-VAC) project as well as the operation and procedures required for the ATS chiller and fill/drain tank. The thermal …


Design, Manufacturing And Testing Of An Environmentally-Green Bipropellant Thruster, Alex Bendoyro, Gabriel Sanchez, Erin Stearns, Phillip Takahashi Jun 2011

Design, Manufacturing And Testing Of An Environmentally-Green Bipropellant Thruster, Alex Bendoyro, Gabriel Sanchez, Erin Stearns, Phillip Takahashi

Aerospace Engineering

This project reviews the design, manufacturing and experimentation process of a green bi-propellant thruster designed to output 5 lbf. The goals were to successfully design, manufacture and test a thruster, while discovering the complications that arise through out the complete design process of a green thruster. The thruster was successfully designed using ideal rocket equations and the design was successfully confirmed using CFD and FEA. Manufacturing of the thruster was fully planned and revealed mild flaws in thruster design. For example some features were not manufacturable to the exact measurements desired. Testing of the engine gave results inconsistent with expected …


Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Electromagnetic Rail Gun For The Repeated Testing And Simulation Of Orbital Debris Impacts, Jeff Maniglia, Jordan Smiroldo, Alex Westfall, Guy Zohar Jun 2011

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Electromagnetic Rail Gun For The Repeated Testing And Simulation Of Orbital Debris Impacts, Jeff Maniglia, Jordan Smiroldo, Alex Westfall, Guy Zohar

Aerospace Engineering

An Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) was designed, built, and tested, capable of firing a projectile a 1 gram projectile at 650 m/s muzzle velocity. The EMRG utilizes an injector, a high voltage power supply, a capacitor bank, inductors and rails. The injector fires 2300 psig Nitrogen gas into the system to provide an initial velocity. The high voltage power supply charges the capacitor bank. The capacitor bank discharges the electric potential built up through the projectile while inside the rails in order to create the EMRG’s force. The inductors are used to pulse form the capacitor bank in order to get …


Modeling And Preliminary Finite Element Analysis On The Spun Structure For The Cpintersep Project, Jason Carpenter, Kelly Cheng, Jeffrey Ma, Richard Pelham, Kevin Povey Dec 2010

Modeling And Preliminary Finite Element Analysis On The Spun Structure For The Cpintersep Project, Jason Carpenter, Kelly Cheng, Jeffrey Ma, Richard Pelham, Kevin Povey

Aerospace Engineering

This paper details the process of modeling and importing the model into FEA for the spun structure of the BS376 spacecraft. Engineering drawings were converted into 3D models using Pro/Engineer and then imported and into Patran for pre-processing of a Finite Element Model. To verify the Finite Element Model, several test cases were set up and solved using Nastran solver. Our simple load cases were found to be in congruence with analytical solution methods validating the finite element model.