Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Adam, Huang
Committee Member/Reader
Jensen, David
Abstract
Many space missions require that the spacecraft be oriented in a specific direction to operate correctly. ARKSAT 1, the University of Arkansas’s first satellite, is a 1U CubeSat designed to perform atmospheric spectroscopy from Low-Earth Orbit and as such requires precise attitude determination and control. Currently, attitude determination systems for 1U CubeSats with small space, low power, and low cost restrictions do not exist. This paper discusses the development of an earth-imaging infrared camera system for attitude determination on CubeSats and SmallSats that meets these requirements. Melexis MLX 90640 IR arrays and Microchip 8-bit microcontrollers are used to create infrared images of various test targets. The contrast of the resulting images is discussed along with recommendations for future development of the system.
Keywords
Attitude determination, Earth-sensor, CubeSat, Guidance, Navigation, Infrared
Citation
Tolar, Z. (2019). Development of Small-Scale and Low-Power Attitude Determination System for Nanoscale Satellites by Infrared Earth-Imaging Sensors. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/meeguht/82