Browsing by Author "Naude, Ashley Kendal"
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- ItemDevelopment of an autonomous deorbiting device for a CubeSat(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Naude, Ashley Kendal; Steyn, H. W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The CubeSat industry is a budding one in the space sector. CubeSats are quickly becoming the satellite of choice for many Earth Observation missions and even interplanetary missions. With the CubeSats chiefly launched to Low Earth Orbit, the problem of overcrowding this space is looming. Low Earth Orbit is home to many larger satellites and is littered with space debris. If these CubeSats continue to be launched at the rate that they are currently being launched at, there will be a severe problem in a few years when they are non-functional and stuck in orbit. Collisions between space objects creates thousands of smaller pieces of debris which exponentially increases the probability of more collisions. It is, therefore, necessary to implement a plan to prevent more debris from forming in Low Earth Orbit, to prevent the runaway scenario of debris formations as well as to keep the space available for new satellites to be launched in future. This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of a CubeSat deorbiting device to be placed in the CubeSat for use at the end of its mission lifetime. First, a literature review and any theoretical knowledge needed for this project are given. A low-power hardware prototype is then designed and implemented in both vacuum chamber and atmospheric level tests. Simulations are done in MATLAB and Simulink to determine the size of the deorbit device needed for different CubeSat sizes and orbit heights. The simulations also include different device designs and satellite attitude states. Finally, the hardware tests' results are discussed and the different simulations compared.