Development of Pogo Pin-Based Holding and Release Mechanism for Deployable Solar Panel of CubeSat

Abstract

CubeSats are revolutionary to the space industry and are transforming space exploration which enables the next generation of scientists and engineers to complete all phases of space missions. Deployable solar panels have been widely used for the generation of enough power in CubeSats due to their limited volume area for solar cell integration. In general, the cable cutting release mechanism have been used in 1U-3U small satellites because of its simplicity and low cost. However, this mechanism has a low constraint force and is unable to apply constraints along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. In this study, for the improvement of the conventional cable cutting mechanism, a spring-loaded pogo pin-based nichrome burn wire holding and release mechanism (HRM) was proposed and fabricated. The pogo pin constitutes an immensely attractive function for the holding and release mechanism of solar panels because it works as an electrical interface to provide power, a separation spring to initiate the reaction force to deploy the panels, and a status switch to determine deployments. In addition, the proposed mechanism guarantees the loading capability along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions of solar panels, the synchronous release of multiple panels, and a handling simplicity that differentiates it from the conventional mechanism. The design feasibility, structural safety, and reliability of the mechanism were verified through functionality tests and launch and on-orbit environmental tests. The proposed pogo pin-based holding and release mechanism would be equally applicable for other CubeSat deployable appendages.

CubeSat’s Deployable Solar Panel with Viscoelastic Multilayered Stiffener for Launch Vibration Attenuation

“…Nowadays, many CubeSat vendors produce various configurations of flight-proven deployable solar panels based on the printed circuit board (PCB) substrate, which is advantageous for rapid fabrication and provides ease of electrical interconnection between the solar cells [7]. For stowing and releasing those deployable panels, hold and release mechanisms (HRMs) based on a burn wire triggering method are widely utilized owing to their simplicity, low cost, and ease of mechanism reset [8,9]. These mechanisms usually provide a mechanical constraint on the solar panel during launch by tightening the nylon wire, which is then cut by heating the nichrome wire or burn resistor to release the panel in orbit [10].…”

Development of a Novel Deployable Solar Panel and Mechanism for 6U CubeSat of STEP Cube Lab-II

“…The mechanism comprises pogo pins, electrical interface PCB, brackets, Dyneema wire, resistor, and resistor PCB. Park et al [23] and Bhattarai et al [24] investigated the applicability and effectiveness of two pogo pins in HRM, although the main purpose of using three pogo pins in the proposed mechanism is to simplify the electrical circuit by reducing the electrical components to lower the cost of the product and increase its reliability for secure release action in a harsh space environment. The main design driver for the use of the pogo pin (MP511-1111-E03100A, CFE Corporation Co., Guangdong, China) [25] connectors is the establishment of a secure electromechanical connection between the electrical interface PCB and the resistor PCB integrated at the edge of the CubeSat structure and solar panel edge, respectively.…”

“…However, the application of vias in the resistor PCB is to make electrodes more securely attached to the PCB surface in order to avoid the risk of electrode pad detachment due to pogo pin friction under launch vibration loads. Bhattarai et al [24] performed a scanning electron microscope (SEM) inspection of the electrode pads after completing all the vibration tests to evaluate the frictional impact or damage caused by the tip of the pogo pins, even though the spring-loaded pin has a low friction impact on vibration loads. The thickness of the electrical contact part or curvature tip on the electrodes was only reduced by 23.88% compared to that of the 60.37 µm initial thickness.…”

Novel Structure and Thermal Design and Analysis for CubeSats in Formation Flying

“…The hold and release mechanism (HRM) is the part of the DSP that holds the panels to minimize the size of the exterior configuration during the launch phase and releases the panels during orbit in order to charge the battery. Generally, the 1st mode natural frequency (f 0 ) of the DSP with HRM varies during the vibration test owing to irregular design and backlash of the torsional hinges [13]. Therefore, to guarantee structural stability without many physical verifications, the characteristics of the DSP and HRM with the tightened nylon wire were duplicated in the structural analytical model.…”