2021/07/28 by Jaren N. Ashcraft, Ashcraft, Jaren N., Ewan S. Douglas +23 · 2 citations
Engineering · #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Satellite Communication Systems #Space Satellite Systems and Control #Spacecraft Design and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2107.13488
openalex publication_date 2021/07/28 · openalex created_date 2022/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The design of a CubeSat telescope for academic research purposes must balance\ncomplicated optical and structural designs with cost to maximize performance in\nextreme environments. Increasing the CubeSat size (eg. 6U to 12U) will increase\nthe potential optical performance, but the cost will increase in kind. Recent\ndevelopments in diamond-turning have increased the accessibility of aspheric\naluminum mirrors, enabling a cost-effective regime of well-corrected\nnanosatellite telescopes. We present an all-aluminum versatile CubeSat\ntelescope (VCT) platform that optimizes performance, cost, and schedule at a\nrelatively large 95 mm aperture and 0.4 degree diffraction limited full field\nof view stablized by MEMS fine-steering modules. This study features a new\ndesign tool that permits easy characterization of performance degradation as a\nfunction of spacecraft thermal and structural disturbances. We will present\ndetails including the trade between on- and off-axis implementations of the\nVCT, thermal stability requirements and finite-element analysis, and launch\nsurvival considerations. The VCT is suitable for a range of CubeSat borne\napplications, which provides an affordable platform for astronomy,\nEarth-imaging, and optical communications.\n