A novel magnetic field approach to simulate spacecraft attitude determination and control

The University of Illinois is developing a CubeSat bus, known as IlliniSat-2, which will be capable of achieving 3-axis attitude control via magnetic torque coils and attitude determination via Kalman-filtered magnetometer data with an optional Sun vector measurement. This innovative new attitude determination and control (ADC) method is more sophisticated than those traditionally employed on CubeSats and will require extensive pre-flight testing to ensure that IlliniSat-2 functions properly after it is launched. To accommodate such testing, a hardware-in-the-loop ADC simulation suite, known as CubeSim, is being developed. CubeSim uses a large triaxial Helmholtz coil, known as the HC3, to dynamically manipulate the magnetic field around a CubeSat to simulate an orbital environment. In the case of an IlliniSat-2 bus, the HC3 testbed allows the CubeSat to determine its attitude in real-time. CubeSim will also receive control feedback from the CubeSat and update the simulated attitude accordingly. This thesis will discuss the development of CubeSim, including the theory and design of the HC3 and the associated software interfaces. Results from initial simulations and testing will be presented and the path for future work will be discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aerospace Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Haddox, Patrick

Contributors dc:contributor

• Coverstone, Victoria L.

• attitude
• determination
• control
• magnetic field
• Helmholtz coil
• Helmholtz cage
• cubesat
• nanosatellite
• satellite
• spacecraft
• systems toolkit (STK)
• LabVIEW

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Patrick Haddox

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49696

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/49696