Attitude Determination and ControlThe attitude determination and control system (ADCS) for B3Sat is responsible for providing control to maintain desired orientation and determining the current attitude of the satellite. It includes three main components: control systems, actuators, and sensors. Early CubeSat missions only involved minimal systems. Enhancing the ADCS system is a primary goal for the B3Sat mission.
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Communications and Ground StationThe B3Sat will relay communications using an antenna, radio, and the ground station. The antenna will take the signals transmitted from the radio and broadcast them back to earth to the ground station. We are planning on also utilizing laser communications on board to relay information back to ground station.
Structure and ThermalThe 27U cube structure will be built in house using the University of Alabama machine facilities. The CubeSat must survive under specific accelerations, vibration, and thermal conditions during the launch segment. The satellite will be designed considering tolerance and failure estimations along with external environmental factors from space.
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Command and ControlThe Command and Control uses software systems that must function with low power budgets. The power from these processors are generally negligible in the overall budget, but must be capable of handling significant data processing on board.
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