The UPMQube: An Academic/Educational PocketQube Proposal for the EU2Space Challenge

Abstract

In the present paper, the UPMQube PocketQube proposal for the EU2Space challenge is described. This proposal has been developed by a group of master’s degree students led by Ph.D. students and professors from the Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad “Ignacio Da Riva” (IDR/UPM) at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). PocketQube is a recent new picosatellite concept, which is currently under development. Its reduced size and mass require a significant effort to reduce the characteristic size of the elementary subsystems. One of the subsystems that offers the greatest capacity for improvement is the Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS), since most PocketQubes do not usually have one due to lack of space. The most relevant technical aspect of this proposal is the development of a new ADCS which fits the high restrictive size and mass requirements, and it is based on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components. This ADCS is composed by: (i) a purely Autonomous Magnetic Controller (AMC) based on magnetorquers and magnetometers on board the spacecraft (S/C platform; (ii) an Attitude Determination System (ADS) based on solar sensors and thermal sensors on board the S/C and an On Ground Attitude Determination Algorithm (for post processing the sensors flight data. The work carried out by Master s degree students is integrated within the academic program of the UPM’s Master in Space Systems as a Case of Study. It also provides an excellent training program for the Ph.D. Assistant Professors included in the proposals Team. The tasks assignments and responsibilities of all members of the Team are fully described in the paper. Additionally, it should be underlined that this proposal is quite well balanced in terms of gender, as 40% of the Team (including the Principal Investigator) are women. This figure is higher than the mean percentage of women present in STEAM Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics careers (29% of the workforce, 19% of company board members, 3% industry CEOs). Keywords: UPMQube, PocketQube, MUSE, magnetic ADCS, space engineering challenge