KySat

KySat antenna deployment video

Tyler uploaded this video of the antenna deployment using the KySat engineering model. Think of it as a kind of "proof of concept." The team is currently testing the cube and getting the flight model ready to go.

All the antennas are quarter wave monopole at their respective frequency. The shortest antenna - about 5 cm long - is for the S-Band up- and downlink. The 19cm UHF antenna is used for downlink, and the 50cm antenna - the longest - is used for uplink.

Wayne

Taking a hammer to KySat

Members of the KySat team conducted hammer tests of the cube yesterday on the campus of UK. As Tyler explains at the bottom of this post, collecting this data and comparing it with the known vibration profile of the rocket will tell the team whether any dampening needs to be added to protect the satellite during launch.

The "test pod," which simulates the P-POD system that will physically deploy the satellite, is pictured below right. The cube is inside.

The hammer tests are part of a complete testing regime that will ensure that the cube survives launch and carries out its educational mission once it is in the cold vacuum of space.

Wayne

CubeSat Update: Tyler Doering

Tyler Doering offered this substantial update on the status of the satellite at the KySpace Conference '08 held last Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky. We're trying something new today with the audio, so if you find it useful please let us know.

Wayne

(Blue)Grass-roots Space

Preparing for a ride to space, KySat team members - university students and academic advisers from colleges and universities in the commonwealth - have been working to get the cube ready to fly.

KySat is a consortium of public and private institutions in Kentucky that want to develop local talent in the space sciences, want to use a real project get kids excited about science in general and space in particular, and who aren't willing to wait around for someone else to do it.

Having built a proof of concept, the team members will soon begin testing it to shake out - literally and figurative - any problems that might need to be addressed in order to build the craft that will be sent to the launch provider.

Updating his recent presentation at the CubeSat Developers' Conference, Tyler supplied some added information today. Here it is:

The proof of concept, or engineering model, is complete and can be seen here on the right.

Flight Software Testing and Integration - All flight software is completed. We are currently doing some static analysis testing and gearing to start the final testing of the systems as a whole or as it will be on orbit.

Hardware Stack Completed - All hardware is complete and has been integrated. All of the images in the CubeSat Developers' presentation are of the engineering model we currently have working on the bench.

Mechanical Integration is ongoing. We will be doing some mass properties measurements Thursday (April 24). At that point, we will be measuring the center of gravity and moments of inertia on all three axes. I will hopefully have some good pictures to post.

Facilities Established - The thermal vacuum is currently pulling a vacuum and we are working on a thermal jacket to be placed around the cube to do thermal cycling. We are also working on the shaker system and are just in the process of developing some software profiles for the launch vehicle we'll be using. The point of this is to simulate the ride to orbit and the environmental conditions the cube will encounter in space.

Assembling Flight Model - After we get past vibration and thermal cycling and work out any problems that come up, we will start building the flight model. This is the model that will be sent to the launch provider. Looking at the schedule, we hope to begin building the flight model around the middle of June and do some testing as soon thereafter as possible.

Wayne

KySat CubeSat talk available

All the presentations at the just-concluded CubeSat Developers' Conference have been posted, including Tyler's KySat update.

Wayne

KySat to Present at the CubeSat Developers’ Workshop

KySat has been invited to give a presentation at the 5^th annual CubeSat Developers’ Workshop. With the continuous growth of the community and the exciting developments of the past year, this year's conference will touch on a variety of issues relevant to both established and emerging satellite developers. Some highlights of the upcoming workshop include a university poster session and presentations on topics such as access to space, NASA’s CubeSat involvement, nanosat developments, and innovations in avionics, ground stations and operations.

KySat’s presentation will during the sixth session on Friday April 11. This session will focus on unique missions and will be chaired by John Hines from NASA Ames. The formal presentation will include results from Space Express and an update on the KySat-1 launch. 

Three design build team members - Daniel Erb, Sam Hishmeh, and myself, and one advisor, Dr. James Lumpp - will be representing KySat this year. We are looking forward to workshop where will be able to interact with other CubeSat developers and network with industry professionals.

More information about the workshop can be found at Cal Poly's website. The agenda is here.

Tyler

An update on the satellite

In the run up to the development of engineering models and the beginning of testing, the team this week met with outside engineers for a review of satellite engineering and testing processes. The team had the equivalent to what NASA calls a Pre-Environmental Review.

Doing the environmental testing so that the delivered satellite will pass all the acceptance level testing at CalPoly is our current focus.

KySat is shooting for a July 1 deadline to deliver a satellite ready to fly.

Software development is nearing a conclusion. KySat is using the real time operating system supplied by Pumpkin. In two weeks the software team is expected to release v. 1.0 of its flight software.

The team will begin integration of the engineering model (spare) in about two and one-half weeks. In a previous integration last May the team found many problems that have since been addressed. Those fixes will be incorporated into this integration effort. The engineering model is an exact duplicate that will be used for a first run of environmental testing. Such testing is designed to ensure that the space craft will survive launch and the harsh space environment.

The biggest challenge right now is designing and locating test facilities for thermal and vacuum work.

Bakeout (to ensure no out-gassing will occur), vibration testing (to simulate launch) and vacuum and thermal cycle testing (to simulate on-orbit operations) needs to be done. Ideally, processes for doing all of this will be developed in-house, but a decision as to whether those processes will be outsourced could be made very soon.

About three or four weeks into this, we will start the construction of a flight model. The flight model will be the space craft that is shipped to the launch integrator.

All the effort put into the development of the engineering model should make flight model development go that much faster.

Tyler Doering

KySat Antenna Deployment Video

One of the recent tests completed on the KySat1 engineering model is that of the antenna deployment mechanism.  For the first time KySat1’s gold plated spring steel antennas have been deployed.

A benchtop power supply was used to supply the current to the mechanism - a task that will be done by the Payload Interface Module (currently undergoing a design iteration) in the actual satellite. All tests where a success. The nichrome wire cutter system severed the tie-down cord that is used to restrain the three antennas in roughly 7 seconds. The video shows the deployment as it would happen in space 30 minutes after deployment form the PPOD.

Tyler

KySat2 Team Update

Last week the KySat2 Design Build Team met at the Space Science Center at Morehead State University. We had a very busy week learning about orbital mechanics, the harsh conditions of space weather and antennas and RF (radio frequency) systems. RF Engineer Jeff Kruth at MSU taught the team about the many different aspects of designing, building and testing antennas and RF systems. The group was also able to see the main ground operations for KySat1. The UHF/VHF ground station, which will be used for S-Band communications, will sit atop the same hill as the 21 meter parabolic reflector at MSU.

The team also had to pleasure of spending the evening at Morehead's Dark Sky Observatory to witness more than 20 satellites pass overhead. The team ended the week with team building activities at Cave Run Lake and Dr. Malphrus' lake cabin.

We are currently in California visiting Stanford, Cal Poly, NASA Ames, Space Systems Loral, and will attend the NASA Small Satellite Industry Day. Work will continue on upcoming missions, specifically the KySat Space Express sub-orbital mission, which will include a meeting with launch provider Lunar Rocket and Rover Co. The team will also visit Stanford and attend lectures by CubeSat inventor Prof. Bob Twiggs. Finally, during the visit to Cal Poly the engineering model for KySat1 will take it's first trip into a P-POD for preliminary checks.

Tyler