Philip Bangert

The Attitude Determination and Control System of the Picosatellite UWE-3

Abstract The picosatellite UWE-3 is the third generation of CubeSats at the University Wurzburg. It is equipped with all necessary satellite systems, among them an advanced attitude determination and control system (ADCS), which will enable the satellite to determine its orientation in space in real-time and, within its actuator capabilities, to control and change this attitude. The hard- and software of the ADCS are described, as well as experiments performed with dedicated test setups, and the obtained results are presented.

Robust Satellite Engineering in Educational Cubesat Missions at the Example of the UWE-3 Project

Abstract With the introduction of the cubesat standard hands-on satellite engineering received a significant boost at educational university programs. However, not all missions could demonstrate successful operation in orbit. Besides technical challenges due to the extremely limited mass and volume imposed by the standard, cubesat projects at university level typically inhere challenges due to high student fluctuation together with significant launch delays and limited financial budgets. In order to ensure feasibility and continuity over long time, special care in the engineering process, especially design, production, integration and testing, has to be taken. This contribution gives an overview about tools and procedures developed in the context of the University of Wuerzburgs UWE project, which support robust satellite engineering despite mentioned challenges.