Simulation of the deployment and orbit operations of the NPS-SCAT CubeSat

摘要

To encourage student interest in-space education, Stanford and Cal Poly conceptualized a CubeSat in 1999. This standardized picosatellite has a cubic shape of 10 cm and weighs about one kilogram. NPS is now designing CubeSats and a structure to deploy them in-orbit as part of its emphasis on hands-on education. This technical report deals with the simulation of the deployment and orbit operations of the NPSSCAT CubeSat. With the help of the AGI Satellite Tool Kit software, animations are created that show the full mission of the CubeSat beginning with the launch and the deployment from the NPS CubeSat Launcher. The animations are combined into one movie, which can be used to visualize the project more easily and clearly. In addition to the animations, on-orbit systems operations such as power and communication profiles are analyzed. A MATLAB program uses the calculated data to generate the battery state of charge, so it can be determined whether the solar cells are producing enough power for the satellite. For the chosen reference mission, the results of the orbital lifetime calculation show that this CubeSat would only stay in orbit for about six months.