³Cat-1 project: a multi-payload CubeSat for scientific experiments and technology demonstrators

Abstract

This article introduces 3 Cat-1, the first project of the Technical University of Catalonia to build and launch a nano-satellite. Its main scope is to develop, construct, assemble, test and launch into a low Earth orbit a CubeSat with seven different payloads (mono-atomic oxygen detector, graphene field-effect transistor, self-powered beacon, Geiger radiation counter, wireless power transfer (WPT), new topology solar cells and WPT experiment), all fitted in a single-unit CubeSat. On one hand, this is mainly an educational project in which the development of some of the subsystems is carried out by undergraduate and postgraduate students. The satellite demonstrates its capabilities as a cost-effective platform to perform small scientific experiments and to demonstrate some of the new technologies that it incorporates.

CubeSat Mission: From Design to Operation

“…Other kinds of antennas are also common for CubeSat missions. For example, 3 Cat-1 was equipped with two bi-stable metal dipoles [17]. This kind of antenna can be quite simple and reliable, and operate in either VHF or UHF bands.…”

“…Among them, the signal processing group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia has been quite active publishing the results of several CubeSat missions. For example, they have contributed to the literature with the architectures of the onboard data handling, electrical power supply and communications systems for a technology demonstration mission [17]. They also published the mission analysis and a trade-off analysis for various configurations considered in a Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) mission [18], and the mission analysis of a different Earth Observation and GNSS-R mission [19].…”

3Cat-3/MOTS Nanosatellite Mission for Optical Multispectral and GNSS-R Earth Observation: Concept and Analysis

“…These three concepts converge in 3 Cat-3/MOTS with an innovative combined optical/ Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) [6,7] payload and data fusion solution for high-resolution soil moisture mapping. Since the concept of innovation is linked to a limited time window, the combination of the knowledge provided by the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (ICGC) in the field of satellite imagery applied to the management of the Catalan territory, and the experience of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC) in the field of Remote Sensing, in the development of previous small satellite missions ( 3 Cat-1 [8], 3 Cat-2 [9], and 3 Cat-4 and 3 Cat-5 as part of the FYS (Fly Your Satellite) program [10] and FSSCat (Federated Satellite System Catalunya) [11] respectively, both in the design phase), and in the access to facilities to test and qualify space hardware [12] define an optimum environment for 3 Cat-3/MOTS.…”

Design Guidelines for General-Purpose Payload-Oriented Nanosatellite Software Architectures

“…This architecture is the main controlling software on-board the CubeCAT-1 nano-satellite ( 3 Cat-1), developed at the Nano-Satellite and Payload Laboratory (NanoSat Lab) of the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC BarcelonaTech). The 3 Cat-1 is essentially a technology demonstration mission that integrates seven different payloads within a 1U form factor [37]. The design of its flight software has targeted modularity and re-usability in order to become the precursor for future 535 nano-satellite missions at the NanoSat Lab.…”

“…They are, indeed, subsystem and payloads controllers and because of that, there is a single HWmod for each payload or subsystem. While the details for each of the payloads and subsystems can be read in [37,38], it is important to note that these software components are not always On the other hand, data generated by the system can also be stored in the file system, either as a regular …”