This summer, we worked on the design of a small, high-powered satellite. This involved developing a system to handle 100 W of power, thermal simulation of the spacecraft, and developing a database of components.
CubeSats have become popular in academia and the aerospace industry for educational, technology demonstration, and scientific missions. Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory is working to expand this with the creation of the Interplanetary Spacecraft Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, or ISP-POD. This deployer functions as a carrier, supporting CubeSats on their interplanetary journeys and deploying them into space when the time comes. With these tasks, comes the challenge of managing the extremes of the interplanetary thermal environment. We endeavored to research and understand the thermal environment and its effect to enable the design of a thermal system capable of protecting the ISP-POD and its CubeSat payloads.
