Modular flexible “Tetris” microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode

doi:10.23919/JSEE.2023.000094

Journal of Systems Engineering and Electronics ›› 2023, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (4): 924-938.doi: 10.23919/JSEE.2023.000094

• SYSTEMS ENGINEERING • Previous Articles

Modular flexible “Tetris” microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode

Jun ZHOU¹^,²^,³(), Hao ZHANG¹(), Guanghui LIU¹^,²^,³^,*(), Cheng CHENG¹^,²^,³(), Jiaolong ZHANG¹^,²^,³()

¹ School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
² National United Engineering Laboratory of Microsatellite Technology and Application, Xi’an 710072, China
³ Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Microsatellites, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China

Received:2021-12-04 Online:2023-08-18 Published:2023-08-28
Contact: Guanghui LIU E-mail:zhoujun@nwpu.edu.cn;aiwuzh2016@163.com;liuguanghui@nwpu.edu.cn;cheng.cheng@nwpu.edu.cn;zhangjiaolong@nwpu.edu.cn
About author:
ZHOU Jun was born in 1966. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1988, 1990 and 1993, respectively. Currently, he is a professor at the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University. His research interests include satellite, system engineering, guidance, navigation and control. E-mail: zhoujun@nwpu.edu.cn

ZHANG Hao was born in 1992. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Xi ’an Polytechnic University in 2014 and 2017, respectively. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. degree at the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University. His research interests are satellite engineering, system design and optimization. E-mail: aiwuzh2016@163.com

LIU Guanghui was born in 1983. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 2006, 2009 and 2012, respectively. Currently, he is an associate researcher at the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University. His research interests include satellite system engineering and experimental design and evaluation. E-mail: liuguanghui@nwpu.edu.cn

CHENG Cheng was born in 1986. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi ’an, China, in 2008 and 2011, and Ph.D. degree from University of Toulouse, France, in 2015. He is currently an assistant professor with the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University. His research interests are statistical signal processing, estimation and detection theory, Bayesian inference and filtering with applications to positioning, tracking and navigation. E-mail: cheng.cheng@nwpu.edu.cn

ZHANG Jiaolong was born in 1988. He received his Ph.D. degree in weapon launch theory and technology from Northwestern Polytechnical University. Currently he is an associate researcher at the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University. His research interests include overall structure of aircraft, electric servo system, and micro-satellites. E-mail: zhangjiaolong@nwpu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62103339; 62073261); Shaanxi Natural Science Basic Research Program (2023-JC-YB-569), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

Abstract

Abstract:

In this paper, a flexible modular “Tetris” microsatellite platform is studied to implement the rapid integration and assembly of microsatellites. The proposed microsatellite platform is fulfilled based on a sandwich assembly mode which consists of the isomorphic module structure and the standard mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces. The advantages of the sandwich assembly mode include flexible reconfiguration and efficient assembly. The prototype of the sandwich assembly mode is built for verifying the performance and the feasibility of the proposed mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces. Finally, an assembly case is accomplished to demonstrate the validity and advantages of the proposed “Tetris” microsatellite platform.

Key words: modular microsatellite design, flexible platform, sandwich assembly mode, isomorphic module structure, standard mechanical-electric-data-thermal interface

Jun ZHOU, Hao ZHANG, Guanghui LIU, Cheng CHENG, Jiaolong ZHANG. Modular flexible “Tetris” microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode[J]. Journal of Systems Engineering and Electronics, 2023, 34(4): 924-938.

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References 29

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Type	Dimension	Function	Display
General module	1U module (100 mm×100 mm×113.5 mm)	House-keeping
		GPS
		Data transmission
	2U module (100 mm×100 mm×227 mm)	Power
		Sensor
		Control
	3U module (100 mm×100 mm×340.5 mm)	Payload
Transfer module	Sandwich structure (100 mm×100 mm×15.1 mm)	Connection
Special module	Solar panel (89 mm×98 mm×1.5 mm)	Power supply

Interface	Quantity	Current of each group interface/A	Power of each group interface/W	Maximum power/W
5 V	4	3	15	60
12 V	4	3	36	144

Type	Material	Shape	Diameter/mm	Thickness/mm	Thermal conductivity/ (W/(m·K))	Specific heat capacity/ (J/(kg·K))
Female contact sheet	Copper	Round sheet with flange	40	1.4	401	385
Male contact block	Brass	Hollowed-out cylinder	45	13	110	380

Interface to be tested	Experimental basis	Experimental device
Mechanical interface	Tensile strength	Tension tester with a range of 0−500 ${\text{kg}}$ and an accuracy of 1%
Mechanical interface	Tensile strength	A testing computer
Electric interface	Ohm’s law and power principle	An ohmmeter with a measurement range of 0−200 ${\text{m\Omega }}$ and an accuracy of ±0.05% of the reading
		Dual-channel digital power with 0−30 ${\text{V}}$ DC voltage and 0−3.5 ${\text{A}}$ current
		A 4-channel oscilloscope with a sampling rate of 1 GS/s
		A 10 ${\text{\Omega }}$ (150 ${\text{W}}$ ) sliding resistor
Data interface	Signal attenuation and distortion	A signal generator
Data interface	Signal attenuation and distortion	A 4-channel oscilloscope with a sampling rate of 1 GS/s
Thermal interface	Fourier’s law and Joule’s law	A film heater
		A dual-channel digital power that can provide two 12 ${\text{V}}$ voltages
		The temperature sensor (PT100)
		A 4-channel temperature transmitter
		A thermostat
		A testing computer

Mechanical interface	Tension force/N
1	999.89
2	1000.35
3	1000.06
4	1000.13
5	999.86
Average value	1000.06

Modular flexible “Tetris” microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode

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Interface	Cable resistance	Total resistance	Interface resistance
1	6.99	16.74	9.75
2	7.61	18.16	10.55
3	6.93	17.40	10.47
4	6.61	17.30	10.69
5	6.65	16.86	10.21
6	6.99	17.25	10.26
7	7.08	18.30	11.22
8	7.11	17.34	10.23

Frequency	Signal of the signal generator		Signal of data interface		Comparison
Frequency	Amplitude/V	Duty ratio/%	Amplitude/V	Duty ratio/%	Amplitude attenuation/V	Phase delay
200 kHz	10.8	50	9.6	50	1.2	0
500 kHz	11.0	50	9.8	50	1.2	0
1 MHz	10.8	50	9.8	50	1.0	0
2 MHz	10.4	50	9.2	50	1.2	0

Modular satellite	Module structure	Dimension that supports assemble	Specification and shape of the microsatellite
PETSAT [21-23]	Panel	1	−
SPARC-X [24]	Cube	2	Limited
iBOSS [25,26]	Cube	3	Any specifications and shapes
Tetris	Cube	3	Any specifications and shapes