SUNSAT Farita Tasnim Shivani Upadhayay Jinny van Doorn

Merit Review Big Picture Questions What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Is student training used in this activity? Feasibility Review will include questions on technical feasibility, management plan, and education plan. Taken from NSF Merit Review Criteria (January 2013)

Problem: Diminishing Supply of NASA Permalloy-Core FGM’s Reference: NASA Proposal No S Proposal Title: Bulk metallic glass for low noise fluxgate NASA is currently experiencing diminishing supply of fluxgate magnetometer ring cores; they are in need of a finer, lower noise core Prime Photonics is developing a cobalt-rich metallic glass for NASA’s use There is a need to test the feasibility of these cores for NASA’s future use of fluxgates. Solution: We are building a fluxgate magnetometers and plan to test the metglass (amorphous metal) core against a traditional permalloy core for evaluation of the core feasibility/performance in space.

Problem: Commercial Sensors Lack Reliability Reference: Filipski & Abdullah 2006, Nanosatellite Navigation with the WMM2005 Geomagnetic Field Model Currently available commercial sensors have low resolution problems: The best ones have 4 nT resolution, which lacks precise measurement of subtle changes in the magnetic field cause by solar winds There is a need to develop a high quality magnetometer sensor circuit in order to accurately detect the effects of solar winds and IMF interactions with the Earth’s magnetosphere Solution: We are developing a high-precision, closed loop, low power sensor circuit to detect magnetic fluctuations to sub-nanoTesla accuracy Version 1 of this circuit is in development and will fly on DREAMS Launch 24

Prime Photonics Flux Gate Magnetometer Core Testbed Fluxgate EMF is proportional to the cross- sectional area of its core and the permeability of the core material. Some metglass (amorphous metal) have mu over one million.

Problem: Lack of Successful Stabilization in a Cube Satellite/Disturbances Reference: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Article Title: FLEXIBLE BOOMS, MOMENTUM WHEELS, AND SUBTLE GRAVITY GRADIENT INSTABILITIES Combination of forces associated with the initiation of the launch significantly affect success of maintaining the attitude of the satellite and have failed in even successful satellites Internal vibration, spacecraft spinning during launch, and weak anchorage of booms contribute to degraded performance Solution: Increase rigidity of systems with stronger boom materials (beryllium-copper rod) that balance the payload (pitch and roll configuration), incorporate reaction wheels/inertia wheels to stabilize third (yaw axis), and place a damper to dissipate extra energy/movement

Dampers (Placed in Center of Mass) A contained fluidic system with the ability to absorb force during impacts and dissipate it as heat to avoid conflict with data detection with cube satellite Should be designed to have a high damping to weight ratio of cube satellite Types: 1. Rod Dampers (most reliable due to simplicity) 2. Spherical Dampers (magnetically coupled to Earth’s magnetic field) 3. Ball-in-Tube Dampers (single-axis) Rods, especially permeable ones, aid in removal of spin energy initiated by launch via hysteresis losses and eddy current development

Problem: Magnetic Contamination & Thermal Influence Difficult to avoid: Small magnetic chips, washers, etc. can unbalance the dampers and cause failure Destabilization can be caused by magnetic dipole interaction with the magnetic field. Even if there is a charge distribution along the yaw axis, it factors into external disturbances and forces Even structurally sound boom designs suffer due to thermally induced vibrations Solution: Implementing different actuators (ex: control moment gyro) allows a constant angular velocity to occur on the perpendicular axis, allowing control of spacecraft; minimize the amount of magnetic material within the satellite; use thermal fillers to improve thermal coupling at select locations while thermal washers can reduce thermal coupling at select locations

Benefits Control of electrical power generating capability of solar cells mounted on the satellite Control of the satellite’s thermal balance Directional control of satellite receiving or transmitting antennas Ability to perform scientific experiments to determine the directional properties of charged particles and other radiation which is present in the magnetic and gravitational fields of the earth Ability to determine directional properties of particles that are geo-magnetically trapped in Van Allen radiation belts (i.e. solar winds)

Problem: Correlating Data to Location of Data Collection Collecting data from satellites and correlating it accurately to the location at which it was gathered is an issue for CubeSats. There is a need to determine accurately the location at which certain data was collected, especially for determining the effect of solar wind on the earth’s magnetosphere. Solution: We are setting up a APRS digipeater on the Sat to communicate with ground stations on the earth, making use of a highly used network of Ham Radio users. That way, data we collect can be accurately location-stamped.

Problem: Non-Reliable Short Timespan of Data Retrieval from CubeSat Data for CubeSats traditionally are retrieved as the Sat passes over the home base for a timespan of 5-7 minutes for LEO satellites For Sat’s with high density of sensor data logging or image logging, it is important to be able to transfer large amounts of data to the home base for higher collection of the data gathered There is a need to increase the timespan of homebase data retrieval to secure more of the data. Solution: Our Columbus Space Program has experience with 24 high altitude balloon missions and could send weekly payloads to directly serve the purpose of receiving data from our Sat as it passes over. As these balloons reach the stratosphere, they have increased timespan, estimated at 20 – 30 minutes for data retrieval, so about 4-6x the amount of data can be transferred

Problem: Short Time of Float for Traditional HAB’s High altitude balloons, especially those made of latex burst about two hours after launch, and don’t travel very far It would be helpful to have a balloon that can last longer in the atmosphere and travel around the earth There is a need to increase the timespan of this extended-homebase telemetry data retrieval balloon Solution: We will use stronger, mylar balloons that have been proven to circumnavigate the globe. Though at a lower level in the atmosphere, circumnavigation will increase even further the amount of data that can be collected from SunSat Proof:

Problem: Lack of Power Storage Longevity With Batteries Reference: Shimizu & Underwood 2013 The feasibility of supercapacitors for CubeSat applications was analyzed and simulations were run to determine their potential usefulness. Simulations of solar eclipse conditions were run to determine the effect of maximum strain on supercapacitor discharge The result of the study was that supercapacitors provide a lighter mass, more efficient energy storage, and support for higher-power payloads There is a need to test the performance of supercapacitors on CubeSats in orbit. Solution: We are incorporating a hybrid supercapacitor-battery setup and recording data on the charge and current to determine the usefulness of supercapacitors for satellite missions

Problem: Lack of Reliability in Commercial Batteries In commercial batteries, such as NiCad, dendrites will form in the separator as the separator metal re-grows after usage, causing battery shorts. We want to eliminate this single point of failure.

Problem: The lack of real world experience and project- based learning in STEM for pre-university students Reference: US Congress Joint Economics Committee, 2012, Hixson et. al For young people, there are inadequate hands-on activities in the classroom to pique interest [in STEM fields] Students learning through project-based learning have a deeper understanding of what they are learning and demonstrate better problem-solving skills in PBL than in more traditional classes; they are able to apply what they learn to real-life situations There is a need to enhance and supplement classroom information with hands-on, real- world project-based learning Solution: In addition in to extensively involving high school students in the development of the Sat, outreach to middle and elementary students will communicate the intent of the project and involve them in data collection

Incorporating Ham Radio Users and FIRST Network We plan to set up sessions with elementary and middle schools in the area to allow them to operate and learn about ground stations during a scheduled pass of the CubeSat over our area. We will empower the network of elementary, middle, and high schoolers involved in FIRST robotics with the tools to set up a ground station and communicate with our satellite