Project Summary | Project Information |
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RIT’s new Space Exploration (SPEX) group was created last year with the goal of bringing RIT into the field of CubeSat construction and experimentation. CubeSats are small vehicles used by industry, government, and universities to enable small scale experimentation with space systems. Electrical power for these systems is generally provided by solar panels and are restricted by the surface area of the vehicle. CubeSat deployable solar arrays are available for purchase, however they are too expensive to be of use to RIT SPEX. The objective of this project is to create a first generation, deployable solar array for use in 1U sized CubeSats for RIT SPEX to support future development. The system must be capable of integrating with a general CubeSat bus while supplying the necessary power to CubeSat subsystems for both the pre-deployed start-up phase and mission phase. It must also be capable of reliably deploying after enduring the launch conditions described in the CubeSat Launch Initiative and P-POD User’s Guides. Lastly the system should be inexpensive to manufacture in comparison to similar systems. The final deliverable for this project will be a completed deployable solar panel array prototype for a 1U CubeSat. Additionally, a complete CAD package and bill of materials will be provided to the RIT SPEX team in order to allow them to reproduce the design in the future with flight ready components. Documentation of the design process will be recorded in EDGE so the SPEX research group can understand design decisions and make any modifications that they see fit in the future. This project is sponsored by Boeing in conjunction with RIT MSD. Thank you for your support and bringing space systems to RIT! |
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Team Members
Member | Role | Contact |
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Tristan McRae | Team Member, Deployment | tm9045@rit.edu |
Robert Masti | Team Member, Structure | rlm7819@rit.edu |
Paul Curtin | Team Member, Deployable Structure | prc5550@rit.edu |
Anthony Hennig | Team Leader, Integration | aih2400@rit.edu |
Content
MSD I & II | MSD I | MSD II |
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Integrated System Build & Test |
Acknowledgements
- Dr. Dorin Patru and the rest of RIT Space Exploration Research Group
- Guide Professor Edward Hanzlik