Design of the Docking System for the Missouri Satellite Project
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Aerospace Engineering
Research Advisor
Pernicka, Hank
Advisor's Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funding Source
Missouri S&T Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) Fellows Program
Abstract
The Missouri Satellite team (M-SAT) is working toward the design and launch of a microsatellite pair that explores the dynamics of autonomous close formation flight. The securing and release of the satellite pair is mission-critical, creating a need to design a dependable separation system. The objective of this research is to develop a low-cost separation system that is successful in securing and deploying the spacecraft, while meeting the many design and team constraints. A trade study was used in an interdisciplinary approach to facilitate the identification of a balanced selection of a release mechanism using numerical representations of the design criteria. A Separation Interface was then designed for the chosen mechanism. These results are a key milestone in the M-SAT design process and are an example of how careful selection of a release mechanism and robust structural analysis can yield a low-cost alternative to typical high-cost separation methods.
Biography
Steve McDonald has experience from a research course taken during the spring of 2007 at Missouri State University. His research included, among others, a persuasive research paper regarding former president Bush's plan for space exploration, a research paper on the accuracy of the film Apollo 13, a research paper on the struggle in Darfur, and an annotated bibliography and bibliographical essay on Rocketdyne's linear aerospike engine.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Award
Engineering oral presentation, Third place
Location
Ozark Room
Presentation Date
08 Apr 2009, 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Design of the Docking System for the Missouri Satellite Project
Ozark Room
The Missouri Satellite team (M-SAT) is working toward the design and launch of a microsatellite pair that explores the dynamics of autonomous close formation flight. The securing and release of the satellite pair is mission-critical, creating a need to design a dependable separation system. The objective of this research is to develop a low-cost separation system that is successful in securing and deploying the spacecraft, while meeting the many design and team constraints. A trade study was used in an interdisciplinary approach to facilitate the identification of a balanced selection of a release mechanism using numerical representations of the design criteria. A Separation Interface was then designed for the chosen mechanism. These results are a key milestone in the M-SAT design process and are an example of how careful selection of a release mechanism and robust structural analysis can yield a low-cost alternative to typical high-cost separation methods.
Comments
Joint project with Yezad Anklesaria