Advanced test environment for automated attitude control testing of fully integrated CubeSats on system level

As CubeSats are increasingly used for commercial purposes such as Earth observation, communication, and scientific research, it is essential to improve their reliability. Recent studies show that primarily insufficient functional testing on system level led to low success rates in former missions. A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CEAS space journal 2024, Vol.16 (4), p.491-510
Main Authors: Ruf, Oliver, von Arnim, Maximilian, Kempf, Florian, Haber, Roland, Elsner, Lisa, Dauner, Johannes, Dombrovski, Slavi, Kramer, Alexander, Schilling, Klaus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerospace Technology and Astronautics
Automatic control
Automation
Calibration
Control systems
Cooperative control
Cubesat
Engineering
Functional testing
Missions
Original Paper
Reliability
Satellite attitude control
Satellites
Small satellites
Subsystems
Test facilities
Test procedures
Verification
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Summary:As CubeSats are increasingly used for commercial purposes such as Earth observation, communication, and scientific research, it is essential to improve their reliability. Recent studies show that primarily insufficient functional testing on system level led to low success rates in former missions. Additionally, high-precision attitude control becomes more important for small satellites, especially in formation missions with multiple cooperating satellites. This paper introduces a unique test facility that allows for automated calibration and verification of the attitude determination and control system of fully integrated CubeSats with high accuracy. Calibration and functional testing at the system level are crucial for ensuring accurate in-orbit performance and detecting failures that may be caused by interfaces or interference with other subsystems. Testing fully integrated satellites prevents mission loss and significantly increases reliability. The automation of calibration and testing procedures improves the overall system quality, while simultaneously reducing the required verification effort, to meet the demands of the growing number of CubeSat missions. This paper presents the results of successfully performed automated system-level tests and provides a comprehensive outlook on verifying cooperative attitude control in multi-satellite formations. This contribution is significant for universities, companies, and agencies by providing an example concept and implementation of automated attitude control testing on system level with extension toward testing cooperating satellites.
ISSN:1868-2502
1868-2510
DOI:10.1007/s12567-023-00523-x