6U CubeSat Bus Integrating Magnetometer and Mass Spectrometer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current CubeSat buses, particularly the 3U standard, are limited in instrument accommodation due to constraints in power and volume, hindering the execution of advanced Heliophysics science applications, and there is no flight-proven 6U bus available for small, capable science platforms.
Innovation Solution
A 6U CubeSat bus is developed, providing a larger form factor that integrates multiple sensors and devices, including a magnetometer, ion/neutral mass spectrometer, and energetic particle spectrometer, with a reduced size and power requirements, enabling flexible and adaptable science missions in various orbits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a 3U CubeSat bus is used, then the satellite meets the standard size and weight guidelines, but instrument accommodation is limited due to constraints in power and volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate subsystems (magnetometer, ion/neutral mass spectrometer, energetic particle spectrometer, and bus) into an integrated 6U CubeSat platform. This merging allows instruments that would have required separate satellites or large platforms to be accommodated together in a single 6U volume, directly resolving the volume constraint while maintaining manageable complexity through unified design
Solution Approach 2:
The 6U CubeSat bus is designed with multi-functional capabilities to support diverse scientific instruments (magnetometer, mass spectrometer, particle spectrometer) and various science applications (radiation belt dynamics, ion/neutral composition, magnetic field measurement). This universal platform approach allows a single bus design to accommodate multiple instrument types and mission objectives, maximizing instrument accommodation without proportionally increasing complexity
2Volume of moving object
If a 6U CubeSat bus is developed, then larger instrumentation and support infrastructure can be contained, but the larger area and additional components require an enhanced bus and support structure
Solution Approach 1:
The 6U CubeSat bus is divided into distinct functional modules including separate compartments for the magnetometer, ion/neutral mass spectrometer, energetic particle spectrometer, and support infrastructure. This segmentation allows each instrument to be optimized independently while fitting within the overall 6U volume, managing complexity through modular design rather than a monolithic structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested arrangement where instruments and support infrastructure are contained within the 6U bus volume in a hierarchical manner. Smaller instrument packages are integrated within the larger bus structure, with components arranged to maximize space utilization. This nesting approach allows larger instrumentation to be contained within the constrained 6U volume without requiring proportionally larger support structure
3Measurement precision
If traditional boom-based magnetometry is used, then magnetic field measurements can be obtained, but the complexity and risk associated with boom structures is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the magnetometer from the traditional boom-mounted configuration and integrates it directly into the CubeSat bus body. This extraction eliminates the need for complex boom structures, deployment mechanisms, and associated failure modes, while maintaining magnetic field measurement capability through the integrated sensor placement and calibration approach
Solution Approach 2:
The CubeSat bus body serves as an intermediary structure that provides magnetic field measurement capability without requiring external booms. The bus structure itself, with its defined geometry and material properties, becomes the reference frame for magnetometer measurements, eliminating the need for separate boom components while maintaining measurement precision through careful design and calibration
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer-readable storage devices for a 6U CubeSat with a magnetometer boom. The example 6U CubeSat can include an on-board computing device connected to an electrical power system, wherein the electrical power system receives power from at least one of a battery and at least one solar panel, a first fluxgate sensor attached to an extendable boom, a release mechanism for extending the extendable boom, at least one second fluxgate sensor fixed within the satellite, an ion neutral mass spectrometer, and a relativistic electron/proton telescope. The on-board computing device can receive data from the first fluxgate sensor, the at least one second fluxgate sensor, the ion neutral mass spectrometer, and the relativistic electron/proton telescope via the bus, and can then process the data via an algorithm to deduce a geophysical signal.