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2018
Conference Paper
Titel
Integrating a large nanosatellite from CubeSat components - challenges and solutions
Abstract
Since the first release of the CubeSat standard a diverse market for CubeSat components has developed. Recent years have also seen a trend towards larger CubeSats. Consequently, all components necessary for systems in the range of small microsatellites are now available on the CubeSat market. This also includes more advanced subsystems like ADCS with three-axis stabilization and high data rate transmitters. When combining systems from different manufacturers, several compatibility issues arise. While all subsystems share the PC/104 format, missing standardization of pin assignment as well as low flexibility of the components make integration harder than necessary. Fraunhofer EMI currently designs and builds the 12U nanosatellite ERNST (Experimental Spacecraft based on Nanosatellite Technology). The satellite contains an advanced mid-wavelength-infrared imaging payload. Most requirements of this payload exceed the capabilities of 1-3U CubeSats. Instead of realizing the mission with a commercially available microsatellite bus, we pursue the concept of building a 12U nanosatellite from components designed for smaller CubeSats. For ERNST, the subsystem compatibility issues are solved using a PC/104 backplane. The components are grouped into multiple stacks that are connected through this backplane, which then translates between the different pin assignments.