Design and Validation of Hardware-in-the-Loop Testbed for Proximity Operations Payloads

<p>The research presented here is a new testbed design for CubeSat and payload testing and development. This research demonstrates a low-cost, hardware-in-the-loop testing apparatus for use with university CubeSat programs for testing throughout the different levels of the development process. The average university CubeSat program undergoes very little hardware-in-the-loop testing. Most of the focus is the targeted towards performance testing and environmental testing which occur after completion the development process. This research shows that, for minimal schedule and cost impact, testing can occur early in the development process. The testbed presented here demonstrates suitable accuracy to be used for advanced mission testing and regularly throughout the process until completion. The testbed maintains a low-cost, modular design, and ease of integration into new and existing programs. In addition, some modifications and upgraders are suggested to further increase the performance of the testbed. The success of the testbed can be seen through the implementation of actual satellite telemetry with rendezvous and docking missions, the testbed performance, and the results of that experiment.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Year

2015

Author dc:creator

• Harris, Kristia K.

• hardware
• testbed
• proximity
• payloads
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Mechanical Engineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.erau.edu/edt/216

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.erau.edu:edt-1215