Table of Contents
CubeSat 2
2024
Abstract
The objective of this project was to develop a small satellite (called a CubeSat) to take photos of Earth and transmit them to a ground station. As per the requirements, the CubeSat had to be able to orient itself to position towards Earth, take pictures of resolution 480x480p, and then transmit them along with its status to a ground station. The mission was 24hrs and required a photo to be taken once a minute. To satisfy these requirements, a Raspberry Pi 4 based system was designed. The electronics include a Pi camera to capture the image, a Waveshare LoRa Hat to both transmit and receive the system's status and the image, and a mini electric DC motor serving as the reaction wheel. This was all powered by 3 Voltaic P124 solar panels connected to a Samsung battery bank, Adafruit PowerBoost 1000 charger, and an Adafruit INA260. The design orbit is a 400km sun-synchronous orbit to maximize solar panel exposure. Ultimately, our product was able to meet all of the design requirements and come in under budget.
Project Details
- The CubeSat must orbit Earth in some standardized orbit pattern
- The CubeSat must take a photo of a minimum resolution of 480x480 pixels
- The CubeSat must transmit the taken photos to a ground station
- The CubeSat must be able to be independently operational for 24 hours
- The project must comply with Radio FCC guidelines
- The project budget must not exceed $1250 total
- The project must be constructed and ready for testing by April 13th, 2024
- The CubeSat must fit within 1.5U size constraints
Project Objective
Take an image of Earth from orbit every minute for 24 hours and send the data and the system’s status back to Earth to be processed by a ground station
Mission Needs
Design and construct a CubeSat for $1250 to take and transmit images to a ground station for 24 hours with 4 students in 14 weeks
