Simulation and Design of a Novel CubeSat Passive Attitude Stabilization System

Abstract

Stabilizing or controlling the attitude of a spacecraft is of vital importance to the achievement of its mission objectives. Passive attitude stabilization, which requires no power or computation, is growing in popularity, particularly for nanosatellites. The main goal of this thesis was to advance the development of the Princeton NanoSat Lab’s first satellites by creating analysis tools and designs for the spacecraft’s passive attitude stabilization system. The first part of this report describes the development and use of a MATLAB-based software tool for the configuration, sizing, and assessment of small satellite passive attitude stabilization systems, simulating orbital and attitude dynamics under the influence of a variety of disturbances. Built around the CubeSat Toolbox made by Princeton Satellite Systems, this tool will be available to anyone seeking to design a nanosatellite with passive attitude stabilization. For this project, the software tool was used to size a passive attitude stabilization system for a 1U CubeSat, with a gravity boom that aligns the spacecraft with the local vertical and magnetic hysteresis rods that provide damping. The second part of this report describes the design process of the components of the passive attitude stabilization system, including an extensible gravity boom with a novel deployment concept, a burn wire release mechanism, and a circuit board for mounting and control. These components were fabricated, assembled, and tested, demonstrating the viability of the gravity boom deployment concept and verifying the proper function of the release mechanism.