1 | P a g e

Design of Nanosatellite for Jupiter’s Satellite Europa

ECE-684

Chintan H. Patel

(31367230)

ECE Department

NJIT

2 | P a g e

Contents

General Description

Components

Detailed Description of components

Operating System and Programming Language

Cost of construction

Name & Time of construction

Electrical & Physical Specifications

Future advancement

Referances

3 | P a g e

General Description

What is a NANOSATELLITE? Generally known as “NANOSAT’s” is the term used for the artificial

satellite’s having the mass between 1 kg to 10 kg. This term was first introduced by NASA in sometime around

2004. This has nothing to do with the term nanotechnology. From a nanoscale perspective even a 5-kg satellite

would appear so big. Nanosatellites becomes appealing because of their small and miniature size as they become

affordable for a swarm of satellite.

There are some pros & cons of the nanosatellite over the conventional satellites:

Pros Cons Lower cost of manufacture Generally shorter working life

Ease of mass production Reduced hardware carrying capacity

Lower cost of launch Lower transmitter output power capability

Ability to be launched in groups with larger satellite More rapid orbital decay

Minimal financial loss in case of failure

The design for the nanosatellite that has to be send to the Jupiter’s satellite Europa would consist of multiple

nanosatellite connected with one another. As the outer atmosphere is not suitable for any of the electronic

instruments or the sensors. So we would send this nanosatellite in shielded peapod, at the bottom of the ice shell

or at the top of the ocean of Europa, where the pressure is at the melting point of the water and the

temperature is almost zero degree centigrade. The bottom of the ice shell has the same temperature and

pressure as that of the ice floating on the grounding lines of Antartica. The chamber would also consist all the

receiver’s for the communication send in from the launched nanosat’s. These chamber would then send the

collected information to the earth space center for review. The external view of the chamber is shown below.

Fig 1.1 Front view of the chamber

The cross-sectional view of the chamber is also shown below, which depicts the chamber segments and

how the arrangement of the nanosats and the devices that are to be placed in the chamber is shown.

4 | P a g e

Fig 2.2 cross-sectional view of the chamber

The sub nanosats are deployed from the window and put in the orbit of the Europa using the fire launcher

with altitude control. The nanosats consist of different sensors with compatible microcontroller and other

peripheral devices. The nanosats are divided into 3 parts (i) the master nanosat (ii) the Nano-eye (iii) ice

penetrating radar.

The processor used in these nanosat is the NANOMIND A3200 by GOMSPACE. The whole NANODOCK

by GomSpace is a PC104 board (9.o cm x 9.6 cm) on which the Nanomind A3200 and Nanocom AX100 are

mounted. So this would comply of the communication between the nanosats and the master nanosat, and no need

of adding an peripheral device for communication.

The Nano-eye is the whole ready platform which is given by GomSpace consisting the same processor with

Nanocam C1U, 1U Cubesat Powerpack, NanoCom AX100, NanoCom Ant430, Nanoeye Antenna Release Board.

The Ice Penetrating Radar can be created by using the NanoMind A3200, two NanoCom AX100,

NanoCom Ant430 and NanoEye Antenna Release board. Using two NanoCom Ax100 running at different

frequency and dissipating the radio waves through the antenna on opposite ends. Thought the frequency is

interfaced by the jupiter frequency so it can only be done on the other side of the Europa.

As the Nanosats are to be launched at the bottom or the top where the temperature is around zero degrees.

So till the nanosat remains in that atmosphere the nanosat will work and we can get the data and different images

of Europa and as it would travel towards the center the atmosphere would change and so when it reaches the

unsustainable temperature the nanosat would perish.

All the data that is collected by the slave cubesats are transmitted to these Peapod, double checked by the

master satellite and then it is transmitted using the long range communication transceiver, to transmit the collected

information back to the earth.

Here in all the components are connected to one another using the I2C interface, as it is easily compatible

with all the components, which are used for the construction of the nanosat.

The Reason for choosing this processor Nano-Mind A3200 is that this is a specially designed computer

with some inbuilt sensors such as magneto sensor, gyroscope and temperature sensor. The other peripheral or the

payloads which are selected here the Nano-eye and the construction of the ice penetrating radar using Nano-Mind

A3200, Nano-Com AX100 and Nano-com Ant430 have almost the same interfacing configuration so that there

is no problem of transmitting or receiving the data or in the functioning of the peripheral components with main

processor or computer.

The only disadvantage I see here as per my knowledge is the power supply, though all the components

function at the same voltage but the functional current for all the peripherals and the main computer are different.

The second disadvantage is the shielding that what type off shielding would allow the nanosat to work for a longer

period of time.

5 | P a g e

Components

1) Nano-Dock PC104 Board a) Nano-Mind A3200

b) Nano-Com AX100

2) Nano-Eye a) Nano-Cam C1U

b) 1U Cube-sat Power-pack

c) Nano-Mind A3200 on board computer

d) Nano-Com AX100 on board radio

e) Nano-Com Ant430

f) Nano-Eye Antenna Release Board

3) Ice Penetrating Radar a) Nano-Mind A3200

b) Nano-Com AX100

c) Nano-Com Ant430

d) Nano-Eye Antenna Release Board

4) Shielding

6 | P a g e

Detailed Description

The detailed description of all the components such as the computers, processors, communication devices,

their processing speed, interfaces, features of the components and peripheral devices is given below

Nano-Dock PC104 Board:

The Nano-dock can be fitted with up to 4 daughter boards, or 2 daughter boards with

an GPS. The Nano-Dock fits to our requirement of 10 cm size as the size of PC104 is 9.0 cm x 9.6 cm. Each

daughter board connector has communication interfaces (I2 C and CAN) and configurable supply lines routed to

the stack connector, and thus allow the motherboard to effectively host four subsystems.

To facilitate easy tabletop debugging access to the daughter boards, a USB to 4 UART’s interface can be

mounted on the motherboard giving the ability access UART0 on each of the daughter boards through USB. If

only the two top daughterboard mounts are used, then the entire system including daughter boards will remain

within the envelope of a single PC104 stacking height.

Features:

1. Motherboard for up to 4 Daughter Boards

2. Provision for mounting GPS receiver (when only 2 daughter boards are placed)

3. Operational temperature: -40 C to +85 C

4. Dimension: 91.9 mm x 88.7 mm x 8.6 mm

5. Mass of the dock: 52 gram

6. 4 x 20- position FSI one-piece connector for daughter boards

7. USB to UART console interface for easy use in lab setup

8. PCB material: Glass/ Polyimide.

9. IPC-A-610 Class # assembly

Block Diagram:

The block diagram below illustrates all the connections on the motherboard. The board is

designed to be very flexible allowing any daughterboard to be supplied from any of the power supply pins used

in GomSpace’s CubeSat products. The white circles show configurable connections. Gray circles show permanent

connections.

7 | P a g e

Fig 1.3 Nano-dock block diagram with the expanded I/O devices.

Expanded I/O Package:

The GomSpace Nano-Dock DMC-3 is available with an expanded I/O package,

which allows the use of the second FSI connector (J2) on the GomSpace Nano-Mind A3200 flight computer to

connect to user defined peripherals and payloads. The expanded I/O package is only compatible with a GomSpace

Nano-Mind A3200 located in daughterboard slot X1. When a Nano-Dock contains the expanded I/O package, 8

connectors with various additional I/O channels are added.

Hardware Layout, Connectors, & Pin-Out:

The motherboard is mainly a passive circuit board that provides a

physical platform for the daughter boards and electrical connections to the stack connector. The only active

electronics circuit is the USB to serial circuit on the bottom side of the PCB, which is powered by USB and

provides a serial connection to the daughter boards.

The illustration below shows the placement of the various connectors. X1 through X4 are 20-pin SAMTEC FSI-

series one-piece connectors that connect to the daughter boards to provide supply and communications. – The P1

through P4 are Molex Pico-Blade™ 8pin right angle connectors that are used to access UART and AUX pins on

the FSI connectors. The USB connector is also a Pico-Blade™. Two SAMTEC SSQ-series or ESQ series 2x26

position headers comprise the stack connector, and various part numbers are available for different stacking

heights. H1/H2.

8 | P a g e

Fig 1.4 Top & Bottom placement of connectors

The motherboard hosts up to four GomSpace daughter boards: Two on the topside and two on the bottom

side of the PCB. The daughter boards are fastened into M3x3mm PEM nuts that are soldered into the motherboard.

The X1 slot can be used with a GomSpace Nano-Mind A3200 flight computer in an expanded I/O mode. Selecting

the expanded I/O package for the motherboard requires the use of a Nano-Mind A3200 in X1, and will include 8

additional I/O connectors on the top side of the board. If the expanded I/O package is installed, always ensure the

Nano-Mind A3200 is installed in the correct orientation to avoid damage.

Instead of accommodating two daughter boards on the bottom side, it is possible to mount a GPS receiver.

The GPS connects to a 20-pin header that provides a permanent UART connection to the daughterboard on X1.

This is designed to use a GomSpace Nano-Mind A3200 on-board computer to interface to the GP.

The list of the hardware components is given below and the details can be found using the link attached

in the referances at the end of the paper:

1. Physical Parameters

2. Daughterboard connectors X1-X4 FSI

(a) Supply Pins

(b) Communication Pins

(c) AUX Pins

3. Stack Connector H1/H2

4. Picoblade P1-P4 Breakout Connectors

5. USB Connector

6. Expanded I/O Connections

(a) Pico-Lock P5-P10

(b) Pico-Lock P11

(c) Pico-Lock P12

(d) CAN Bus Termination

9 | P a g e

Mechanical Drawing:

All dimensions in mm. Nano-Dock shown with expanded I/O.

Fig 1.5 Mechanical Drawing of Nano-dock

Nano-Mind A3200:

The NanoMind A3200 (A3200) contains three main parts.

The A3200 on-board computer (OBC) is designed as an efficient system for space applications with

limited resources, such as e.g. for CubeSat or nano-satellite missions.

A 3-Axis magnetometer and coil- drivers that can be used to implement attitude control based on magnetic

sensing and actuation.

A 3-Axis gyroscope used for attitude control.

Its main interface to other subsystems is CAN and I2 C. For storage the board carries a 128 MB NOR serial

flash. The RTC chip on the board also functions as a processor companion while 32 kB of FRAM provides non-

volatile storage.

Beside the I2 C controller for the main bus the board also has an extra I2 C controller that can be used to

interface to external I2 C components. For interfacing with SPI devices the board has one external connection

10 | P a g e

with three chip selects and it also has 8 inputs to an ADC and if needed the ADC inputs can also be used as GPIO.

The form factor of the A3200 fits on the GomSpace Nano-Dock’s, which makes it possible to fit both the A3200

and another daughterboard next to each other in the same space as a standard OBC would require.

Fig 1.6 PCB view Top of A3200 Fig 1.7 PCB view of Bottom of A3200

Features:

1. High-performance AVR32 MCU with advanced power saving features. 2. Clock frequency from 8 MHz to 64 MHz. 3. 512 KB build-in flash. 4. IEEE 754 FPU. 5. Wide range for clocks speeds with build-in PLL 6. Multiple CSP data interfaces: I2 C, UART, CAN-Bus 7. 128 MB NOR flash (On two dies of 64 MB each) 8. 32 kB FRAM for persistent configuration storage 9. 32 MB SDRAM 10. RTC clock 11. On-board temperature sensors. 12. 8 external ADC channels that also can be used as GPIO 13. External SPI with 3 chip selects. 14. Attitude stabilization system.

i. 3-Axis magneto resistive sensor. ii. 3-Axis gyroscope

iii. 3 bidirectional PWM outputs with current measurement iv. I 2 C interface for GomSpace Sensor Bus (GSSB)

15. New compact daughter-board form-factor (compatible with GomSpace motherboards) 16. Operational temperature: -30 °C to +85 °C 17. Dimensions: 65 mm x 40 mm x 6.5 mm 18. Mass: 14 gram 19. 2 x 20-position hard-gold plated FSI one-piece connector 20. UART console interface for easy use in lab setup 21. PCB material: Glass/Polyimide 4+4 twin stack ESA ECSS-Q-ST-70-11-C 22. IPC-A-610 Class 3 assembly.

11 | P a g e

Functional Description:

Microcontroller:

The A3200 is based on an Atmel AT32UC3C MCU. This is a high performance 32-bit

RISC architecture with advanced power saving features to both facilitate tasks with a high computational

demand and tasks where the MCU is idle most of the time. For applications as ADCS the MCU has floating

point support that is based on IEEE 754 floating point standard.

I2C Interface: A3200 has an I2 C bus supporting bidirectional data transfer between masters and slaves,

multimaster bus, arbitration between simultaneously transmitting masters without corruption of serial data

on the bus. Serial clock synchronization allows devices with different bit rates to communicate via one

serial bus and is used as a handshake mechanism to suspend and resume serial transfer.

CAN Interface: One of the main interfaces of the A3200 to communicate with other subsystem

hardware is a CAN bus interface. The Controller Area Network (CAN) is a serial communications

protocol that supports distributed real-time control with a high level of security. The maximum bus

speed is 1 Mbits/s.

The A3200 uses the SN65HVD230 as a CAN transceiver. Designed for operation in harsh

environments, this device features cross-wire protection, loss-of-ground and over-voltage

protection, over-temperature protection, as well as wide common mode range. This device provides

different modes of operation: high-speed, slope control, and low-power modes.

3-Axis Magnetometer and Gyroscope: The A3200 includes a 3-Axis magnetometer to sense the Earth’s

magnetic field, the HMC5843 from Honeywell. The device is based in the Honeywell’s Anisotropic

Magnetoresistive (AMR) technology.

Beside the magnetometer the board also includes a 3-Axis gyroscope, the MPU-3300 from

InvenSense. This gyro has a low power consumption of less than 10 mW and an operating temperature

range of -40 °C to +105 °C. It offers a full-scale range up to ±450 degrees per second and a bias instability

of 15 degrees/hour.

Both the magnetometer and the gyroscope interface to the MCU via a dedicated I2 C bus using a

driver included in the software library.

3-PWM Bidirectional Outputs:

The A3200 has 3 bidirectional outputs from 3 H-bridge drivers designed

to be controlled by a PWM output from the microcontroller. The main purpose of these bidirectional

outputs is to be used for external magnetorquers to implement attitude control. It is possible to switch the

power to the PWM driver and they also support current measurement.

Connecter for GomSpace sensor bus: The board got a connector with switchable power and I2 C

output and this can be used together with GomSpace sun sensors and interstages panels

ADC and GPIO channels:

To sample external analog values the board supplies 8 ADC channels in one of

the main connectors. These 8 pins can also be configured to be GPIO instead of ADC inputs.

12 | P a g e

RTC with 32 kB nonvolatile storage: For timekeeping and storage of nonvolatile data the board includes a

FM33256B processor companion from Cypress. This chip includes RTC, watch dog, bod and 256 Kb

ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) which supports 1014 read/write cycles.

SDRAM:

For applications that need more ram than what is embedded in the MCU the board also has 32

MB of SDRAM connected to the microcontroller.

Hardware Layout, Connectors & Pin Out:

1. A3200 Top

i. J3 – Picoblade Connector For JTAG

ii. J4 – Picoblade USART (debug) Connector

iii. J5 – Picoblade Connector with I2C and VBAT

iv. J6 – Picoblade Connector with PWM outputs

2. A3200 Bottom

i. J1 and J2 – FSI Main Connectors.

Fig 1.8 A3200 Top & Bottom connector and pin

13 | P a g e

Block Diagram:

Fig 1.9 Block Diagram of Nano-Mind A3200

Debug Interface:

The debug interface is a USART that uses the GomSpace Shell (GOSH) to present a

console-like interface to the user. The debug interface is a USART that uses the GomSpace Shell (GOSH) to

present a console-like interface to the user:

Inspect CSP traffic (incoming and outgoing) Test command for board (Switch power channels, read gyroscope and magnetometer, set PWM outputs,

etc.) Commands for other GomSpace subsystems as Nano-Power EPS, Nano-Com radio and GomSpace

GSSB sensor devices such as Nano-Sense Fine Sun Sensor.

These features make it easy to test the functionality and connections to the A3200 before it is loaded

with custom software. The GOSH console can be found in connector J4 and the COM port settings are 500000

baud 8n1. On Linux it is recommended to use the program Mini com to see the terminal and on Windows Real

term can be used.

14 | P a g e

Mechanical Drawing:

Fig 1.10 Mechanical representation of A3200

Nano-Com AX100:

The NanoCom AX100 (AX100) is a half-duplex software configurable radio

transceiver specifically designed for long-range transmissions. The combination of forward error correction, AFC

and digital filters results in a high sensitivity system, without sacrificing flexibility. The radio module supports

full on-orbit reconfiguration of the frequency, bitrate, filter-bandwidth, and modulation type. Smart CSMA/CA

(listen before talk) medium access control combined with a small RX/TX switching duration gives a short satellite

ping time, thus effectively removing the need for fullduplex radios, even for high volume data download. In turn

this simplifies satellite design, because only a single antenna is required.

The integrated design of microcontroller, transmitter, receiver, LNA and power amplifier results in a small

PCB module that fits up to four times onto a CubeSat PCB. Multiple hardware components are reused from the

NanoCom U482C, including the PA, DC-DC converter, RX/TX switch, microcontroller, oscillators, and RAM

memory.

Fig 1.11 Nano-Com AX100

15 | P a g e

Features:

1. Advanced high performance narrow-band transceiver for UHF and VHF1. 2. FSK/MSK/GFSK/GMSK. 3. Data rates from 0.1 kbps to 115.2 kbps 4. Class leading sensitivity down to –137 dBm at 100 bps with FEC 5. RF carrier frequency and FSK deviation programmable in 1 Hz steps 6. Automatic frequency control (AFC) 7. Transmitter with 30 dBm output power at > 45 % PAE 8. RF parameters are fully configurable on-orbit. E.g. carrier frequency, filter bandwidths, baud

rate, framing etc. can be altered on the go.

9. Multiple frame and FEC formats: i. HDLC RS.232 FEC.

ii. HDLC + Viterbi FEC iii. 32-bit sync word + RS.232 FEC iv. AX.25 (coming later)

10. Multiple CSP data interfaces: I2 C, UART, CAN-Bus. 11. 32 kB FRAM for persistent configuration storage 12. RTC clock 13. Built-in over-temperature protection 14. High-efficiency buck-converter for transmitter supply. 15. New compact daughter-board form-factor (compatible with GomSpace CubeSat motherboard). 16. Operational temperature: -40 C to +60 C 17. Dimensions: 65 mm x 40 mm x 6.5 mm 18. Mass: 24.5 gram 19. 20-position hard-gold plated FSI one-piece connector 20. UART console interface for easy use in lab setup 21. MCX antenna connector 22. Integrated heat sink (also works as EMI shield). 23. PCB material:Glass/Polyamide 4+4 twin stack ESA ECSS-Q-ST-70-11-C 24. IPC-A-610 Class 3 assembly.

Block Diagram:

The Microcontroller has three satellite bus connections; it can use I2 C, CAN-BUS or

USART. Furthermore it has a separate USART for the GOSH debugging console. Finally the RF connector is a

single SMA 50 Ω for both RX and TX.

16 | P a g e

Fig 1.12 Block diagram Nano-Com AX100

Functional Description:

The RF frequency generation subsystem consists of a fully integrated synthesizer, which

multiplies the reference frequency from the crystal oscillator to get the desired RF frequency. The advanced

architecture of the synthesizer enables frequency resolutions of 1 Hz, as well as fast settling times of 5 – 50 μs.

Fast settling times mean fast start-up and fast RX/TX switching, enabling low-power system design.

The Power Amplifier is a two stage 25 dB gain with an output of 27-332 dBm. A temperature sensor has

been placed very close to the PA to prevent the system from overheating. A software programmable max

temperature can be set, at which point the microcontroller will immediately shut down the transmitter. The heat

from the power amplifier is spread through several layers of ground plane and through an aluminum heat sink,

which also doubles as an EMI shield.

The LNA is a medium gain monolithic amplifier with a low noise figure (~1dB) selected for its simplicity

and stability. The RX/TX switch is rated for 5 W and is robust enough to handle a severe antenna mismatch, for

example if the antenna cable is not inserted while powering on the amplifier. This is of course hypothetical and

should not be done with flight hardware.

The TCXO has a frequency stability of +/- 2.5 ppm over the entire temperature range, and removes the

need to do frequency-offset calibration after satellite deployment. The built-in AFC will correct for any minor

frequency variations up to +/- one quarter of the receiver bandwidth.

17 | P a g e

Hardware Layout, Connectors & Pin out:

The transceiver module has 4 connectors named J1 – J4 seen below:

Fig 1.13 hardware layout of Nano-Com AX100

1. J1 : FSI Main Connector

2. J2 : 8-pin Picoblade Connector

3. J3 : 4-pin Picoblade USART (debug) Connector

4. J4 : MCX RF Connector

Data Interface:

The Nano-Com AX100 uses the CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP) to transfer data to and from

CSP nodes on-board the main system bus. CSP is a routed network protocol that can be used to transmit data

packets between individual subsystems on the satellite bus and between the satellite and ground station.

The CSP network layer protocol spans multiple data-link layer protocol:

I2C / TWI:

The standard method to communicate with the AX100 radio is over multi-master I2 C/TWI.

Please note that since the CSP router sends out an I2 C message automatically when data is ready for a

subsystem residing on the I2 C bus.

The AX100 uses the same I2 C address as the CSP network address per default. This means that if

a message is sent from the radio link, to a network node called 1, the AX100 will route this message to

the I2 C interface with the I2 C destination address 1.

KISS:

The KISS protocol uses special framing characters to identify a data-packet on a serial connection.

It is designed to be easy to implement in simple embedded devices, which are capable of asynchronous

serial communications.

It is possible to communicate with the AX100 over a serial connection using USART2 and

USART4 in the main FSI connector or on the debug output.

CAN – BUS / CFP:

The CAN interface to the AX100 can be used together with CAN Fragmentation

Protocol (CFP), a data-link layer protocol specially developed for CSP. CFP is a simple method to make

CSP packets of up to 256 bytes, span multiple CAN messages of up to 8 bytes each.

18 | P a g e

Debug Interface:

The debug interface is a USART that uses the GomSpace Shell (GOSH) to present a console-

like interface to the user. The console can be used during checkout of the AX100 to send commands and set

parameter. During integration into the satellite, the debug interface can be used to evaluate and see incoming and

outgoing traffic through the AX100 radio. Telemetry and housekeeping parameters can also be monitored. Here

is a short list of features of the debug interface:

Inspect CSP traffic (incoming and outgoing)

Inspect I2C driver (useful during early driver development)

Inspect runtime performance

Run tests (ping, BER, etc.)

Modify routing table

Modify, save and restore default parameters

Set Frequency, Bitrate, Bandwidth, etc

RF Characteristics:

Transmitter:

19 | P a g e

Receiver:

Link Budget:

20 | P a g e

Downlink:

21 | P a g e

Uplink:

22 | P a g e

Physical Layout & Integration:

EMI Shield / Heat Sink:

The AX100 comes with a black-anodized aluminum shield that serves both

as an EMI shield and a heat sink. The shield is mounted flush to the PCB ground plane on the upper side and

is fixed with 12 hex screws. It has a special milling around the power amplifier that provides a thermal contact

between the PA and heat sink using a thin 110 μm piece of Kapton®.

Fig 1.14 EMI Shield.

PCB Description: BOTTOM

The bottom contains the gold plated FSI main connector and a SDRAM chip.

Fig 1.15 Bottom of Nan-Com AX100

23 | P a g e

PCB Description: TOP

The top of the PCB contains two sections, the RF and the processor section. The RF

section contains all the analog components and the RF chip. The Processor section contains the MCU,

Memory chip and a high efficiency dc-dc converter for the power amplifier.

Fig 1.16 Top of Nano-Com AX100

Motherboard mounting:

The AX100 module should be placed on a motherboard that can provide the

physical interface to the PC-104/PCI sub-system stack. In the picture below a Nano-Mind A3200 and a

Nano-Com AX100 is mounted next to each other on top a DMC-3 Motherboard.

Fig 1.17 Nano-Dock with Nano-Mind A3200 & Nano-Com AX100

Nano-Eye:

The implementation of the GOM-X – platform, is the Nano-Eye that provides a complete 1U

cubesat platform with the camera payload. The hardware used in the Nano-Eye are the sub-systems by the

GomSpace itself. It consists of:

i. Nano-Cam C1U

ii. 1U CubeSat PowerPack

iii. Nano-Mind A3200 on-board computer.

iv. Nano-Com Ax100

24 | P a g e

v. Nano Ant430

vi. Nano-Eye Antenna Release Board .

All the Cubesats here-in uses the same computer and the radio for the communication i.e Nano-mind

A3200 and Nano-com AX100. While the components such as antenna, antenna release syatem are also common

for the Ice Penetrating device cubesat. The power pack is same for all the three cubesats. So further the remaing

components are described.

Nano-Cam C1U:

The Nano-Cam C1U system is a flexible and modular system to rapidly implement tailored

imaging systems based on customer requirements. It is an off-the-shelf configuration consisting off: lens, lens

table, image acquisition and processing board, and software.

Nano-Cam C1U has been designed to be implementable in a standard 1U CubeSat structure together with

GomSpace’s on-board computers, attitude control system, radio transceiver and power products to allow low cost

Earth observation using CubeSats. This is the new upgraded version of the GomSpace Nano-Cam C1U, with

upgraded image processing capabilities.

Features:

1. Integrated system:

i. Industrial Lens

ii. 3-megapixel color sensor

iii. Capable data processing and storage on-board

2. Image Acquisition:

i. 1/2” (4:3) format color CMOS sensor

ii. 2048 x 1536 pixels

iii. 10-bit RGGB Bayer pattern

3. Lens Performance:

i. High-end industrial lens

ii. 35 mm f/1.9 or 70 mm f/2.2 standard lenses

iii. 35 mm lens:<60 m/pixel from 650 km

iv. 70 mm lens: < 30 m/pixel from 650 km

v. 400-1000 nm spectral transmission

4. Data Processing:

i. High-performance ARM processor

ii. 512 MB on-board DDR2 RAM

iii. 2 GB solid state image storage

iv. RAW, BMP and JPEG output formats

5. Interface:

i. CSP-enabled CAN, I2 C, and TTL level serial interfaces

ii. Serial port with text-based console

6. Mechanical:

i. Standard PC104 size, 96 mm x 90 mm

ii. Mass: from 169 g with the 35 mm lens

iii. Mass: from 277 g with the 70 mm lens

7. Quality:

i. Glass/Polyimide IPC 6012C cl. 3/A

ii. IPC-A-610 Class 3 assembly

25 | P a g e

Block Diagram:

Fig 1.18 Block Diagram of Nano-Cam C1U

Functional Description:

Processor:

The NanoCam C1U is based on an Atmel SAMA5D35 processor. This is a high-performance,

power-efficient ARM Cortex-A5 CPU with integrated floating-point unit. The NanoCam application runs

on a customized embedded Linux platform.

Storage: The board includes 512 MB DDR2 memory for image storage and processing. A 4 GB eMMC

flash is used for the root file system and for persistent storage of captured images. 2 GB of the flash is

available for image storage. The system boots from a dedicated 64 MB NOR flash attached to the

processors external bus interface.

Image sensor: A key component of the NanoCam is the Aptina MT9T031 digital image sensor. This 1/2“

CMOS sensor produces color images up to 2048x1536 pixels resolution with 10-bit per pixel ADC

resolution. It is connected to the main processor with a 10-bit parallel interface for data and I2C for control

of image parameters.

F-RAM & RTC: For storage of non-volatile configuration and telemetry data, the C1U board includes a 32

kB Ferroelectric RAM (F-RAM) from Cypress Semiconductor. The stored data is accessible through the

GomSpace parameter system. The F-RAM provides virtually unlimited write-erase cycles and also

includes a built-in capacitor-backed Real-Time Clock (RTC) that is used to maintain system time across

reboots and short periods without power.

26 | P a g e

Interfaces: The camera is controlled using the Cubesat Space Protocol (CSP) via CAN, I 2 C or TTL level

serial port. Multiple interfaces can be enabled simultaneously to use different interfaces to communicate

with different subsystems on the satellite bus.

GOSH:

A serial console provides access to operation and debugging commands through the GomSpace

shell (GOSH). The serial console also allows access to the standard Linux shell.

Sensors: The NanoCam includes two analog temperature sensors, plus voltage and current sensors on the

3.3 V (VCC), 1.8 V (DDR2) and 1.2 V (CPU) power rails. These values can be read through the parameter

system.

Lenses:

The C1U is designed to accommodate any lens that conforms to the C-mount interface. It has been tested

with the Schneider Optics Industrial Ruggedized 2/3” format lenses. The following features apply to all these

lenses:

2/3” format 11 mm image circle 400-1000 nm pass band Corrected and broadband coated Robust metal body Precise focusing via fine internal thread Unique, robust focus lock Click-stop free iris setting / Iris lock Integrated front thread to accept SN2 mount filters

The C1U is supplied with a (removable) Schneider Kreuznach BP 540-300 (486) HT UV/IR cut filter,

that blocks UV light below 390 nm and IR above 690 nm.

i. XENOPLAN 1.9/35MM COMPACT ii. TELE-XENAR 2.2/70MM COMPACT

Hardware Layout:

The NanoCam C1U has three connectors on the topside of the PCB, labeled J1, J2, and J3. The

connector locations are highlighted in the figure below

. Fig 1.19 Hardware Layout Nano-Cam C1U

27 | P a g e

i. J1: USB Connector ii. J2: GOSH Connector

iii. J3: Main Connector

Data Interfaces:

The NanoCam C1U uses the CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP) to transfer data to and from other

CSP nodes on the main system bus. CSP is a routed network protocol that can be used to transmit data packets

between individual subsystems on the satellite bus and between the satellite and ground station.

The camera can be operated via CSP on three interfaces: CAN, I 2 C, and TTL level serial port. It is possible

to enable multiple interfaces simultaneously and use different interfaces for different subsystems on the satellite

bus.

CAN: The CAN interface to the C1U can be used together with CAN Fragmentation Protocol (CFP), a

data-link layer protocol specially developed for CSP. CFP is a simple method to make CSP packets of up

to 256 bytes span multiple CAN frames of up to 8 bytes each. The CAN rate is configured to 1 Mb/s.

I2C: The Nano-Cam can also be operated over multi-master I2 C. The C1U uses the same I2 C address

as the CSP network address per default. Please note that since the CSP router sends out an I2 C message

automatically when data is ready for a subsystem residing on the I2C bus, the bus must be operated in I 2

C multi-master mode. I2C slave mode is thus not supported. The I2C rate is set to 400 kb/s.

Serial Port: The Nano-Cam also supports CSP over TTL level serial port using the KISS framing

protocol. The default serial port rate is 500 kb/s.

1U Cube-Sat Power-pack:

The Nano-powerpacks include a full configuration of the basic nano-power boards

with solar panel, harness and interstage panels on larger cubesats. Each pack includes, 6x coarse sun sensors, 3x

magnetorquers, 3x rate gyro for altitude determination and control.

Power packs are compatible with the ISIS and the Pumpkin structure and integrate seamlessly with the

other GomSpace products. For example, with the Nano-Mind on board computer and the related software products

for mission management and altitude determination and control.

These power pack is made up of several sub components made by the GomSpace itself. They are listed as

follows:

i. Nano-Power P31u Power Module

ii. 3 - Nano-Power P110-A/B/C solar Panels

iii. 3 - Nano-Power P110U-A/B/C solar panels

iv. 1 – Harness kit

The images of the above mentioned power components is shown below:

28 | P a g e

Images of the components of the 1U PowerPack

Specification:

Configuration:

Fig 1.20 configuration of the power-pack

Electrical & Physical Specifications:

Photovoltaic power up to 60W

Two regulated power buses: (i) 3.3v @ 5A (ii) 5V @ 4A

29 | P a g e

Battery capacity: 2600mAh

Operational temperature: industrial range

PCB material: Glass / Polyimide IPC 6012C cl. 3/A

IPC-A-610 Class 3 assembly

Nano-Ant430:

These antenna is safe for different operations of a satellite. The GomSpace Nano-Com ANT430

antenna is a 70 cm band deployable, omnidirectional, canted turnstile antenna system with rigid antenna

elements, which eliminates the risk of antenna deformation.

Features:

1. Omnidirectional Canted Turnstile Cubesat Antenna.

2. 400 - 480 MHz.

3. Gain: 1.5 dBi to -1 dBi

4. Rigid antenna tubes (no risk of antenna deformation while stowed)

5. Matched to 50Ω 6. IPC-A-610 Class 3 assembly

Functional Description :

The turnstile antenna system consists of four monopole aerials combined in a

phasing network in order to form a single circular polarized antenna. The antenna radiation pattern is close to

omnidirectional and there are no blind spots, which can cause fading with tumbling satellites.

The antennas are compatible with the 1U, 2U or 3U ISIS CubeSat structures and can be mounted on

either the top or bottom of the structure. The antenna PCB is designed to be the least obstructive to any top or

bottom mounted payload or panels. It has a low profile that allows a solar panel to be mounted on top, and a large

aperture in the center suited for a protruding camera lens, propulsion hardware or similar.

Characteristics:

Gain:

Highest gain (1.4 dBi) is along the long (Z) axis of the cubesat with lower gains (0.6 to -0.3 dBi) along

the X- and Y-axes.

30 | P a g e

Nano-Eye Antenna Release Board:

The Nano-eye antenna release board is also known as the GOMX

Interface Hub. These is used for mounting on the end of the cubesat structure and provide a number of

necessary features. It integrates ground support interfaces like USB to the subsystem serial ports and the flight

preparation panel connectors togather with the inter sub-system interfaces like the digital IO, ADC and SPI and

the utilities like the electrical knives and the power switches into one compact package.

Features:

1. Dual electric knife system with the sense feedback

2. Three latch-up protected power channel outputs

3. Break-out of the pins from the stack connector

4. USB interface to 4 RS232 ports for easy groud support interfacing

5. Nano-Cam to interface

6. Flight preparation and panel interface

7. Digital IO’s

8. SPI

9. ADC

10. RS232 (TTL)

11. I2C interface with the CSP protocol IPC-A-610 class 3 assembly

Electrical & Physical Specifications:

Supply voltage: 3.3 V

Supply nominal current: 5 mA

Operational temperature: Industrial range

Dimensions: 96 mm x 90 mm x (16 to 26) mm

PCB material: Glass / Polyimide IPC 6012 cl. 3/A

IPC-A-610 class 3 assembly

Mass: 45 g

Antenna Release:

The antenna release system itself consists of small wings off the main pcb with two burn

resistors and a normally-open sense switch. Each burn resistor can be operated independently and the sense switch

can be used for detection of successful deployment. The string (wire) used in the stow procedure is thin flexible

Dyneema and 5 meters of the wire is provided with the product.

Stow procedure:

Use 40 cm burn wire. Insert both ends of wire through the inner holes of the release PCB

from the side with the spring. Place loop of wire at hook on spring. Pull both ends over the burn resistors and

through the outer two holes. Tie ends around antenna using two surgeonʼs knot on top of each other.

31 | P a g e

Fig 1.22 Dipiction of how the antenna is releases

Shielding:

Shielding reduces the intensity of radiation depending on the thickness. This is an exponential

relationship with gradually diminishing effect as equal slices of shielding material are added. A quantity known

as the halving-thicknesses is used to calculate this.

Generally the shielding used in the satellite’s is the Graded- Z shielding is a laminate of several materials

with different Z values (atomic numbers) designed to protect against ionizing radiation. Compared to single layer

shielding, the same mass of the graded Z shielding has been shown to reduce electron penetration by 60%. It is

commonly used in the satellite based particle detectors, offering several benefits:

Protection from radiation damage

Reduction of background noise of detectors

Lower mass compared to single layer shielding.

The design of the shielding may vary, but it typically would involve high Z gradient through successive

lower Z- elements such as tin, steel & copper with aluminium as the most outer layer. Sometimes even lighter

elements are also used such as polypropylene or boron carbide.

In a typical graded-Z shielding, the high Z layer effectively scatters the protons and the electrons. It also

absorbs the gamma rays, which produces the X-ray fluorescence. Each subsequent layer absorbs the X-ray

fluorescence of the previous material, eventually reducing the energy to a suitable level. Each decrease in the

energy produces bremsstrahlung and Auger electrons, which are below the detector’s energy threshold. Some

design may also include a layer of aluminium, which may be just simply applied as the skin of the satellite on the

outer surface of the satellite.

Operating System and Programming Language

The software for the Nano-Mind A3200 comes in two packages, standard package and full package.

The standard software package for the board includes a patched version of Atmel Software Framework

(ASF) and a board support packet with drivers for the peripherals on the board. ASF also includes Free

RTOS configured for running on the microcontroller.

It is also possible to get the software for the image that the board is delivered with where all

functionalities are included. The full software packet also includes example code of how to use the

different features. In the table below the different features are listed for the standard and full software

package.

32 | P a g e

Cost Estimate for the construction of the System

The Nano-mind A3200: $ 15k (2 pcs)

Nano-eye : $ 57k (the camera platform)

Nano-Com AX100: $10k (2pcs)

Nano Power-pack: $4k

Nano-Com ANT430: $4.5k (2pcs)

Nano-Eye Antenna Release: $ 6k (2pcs)

Approximate cost of building: $ 96.5k

Name and Time estimate for construction

I would like to call this satellite APJ KALAM, these is in the memories of the late scientist and ex-

president of INDIA Mr. ABDUL KALAM, for his contribution to science and the development of science in

INDIA.

Electrical and Physical Specifications

1. Nano-Mind A3200: i. Supply voltage: 3.3 V

ii. Supply Nominal Current: 40mA (peripheral add to this)

iii. Operational temperature: -40 C to +60 C

iv. Mass: 14 g

v. Dimensions: 65 mm x 40 mm x 6.5 mm

vi. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

2. Nano-Com AX100: i. Supply voltage: 3.3 V

ii. Supply current receiver: 55 mA

iii. Supply current transmitter: 800 mA

iv. Operational temperature: -40 C to +60 C

v. Dimensions: 65 mm x 40 mm x 6.5 mm

vi. Mass: 24.5 g

vii. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

3. Nano-Cam C1U: i. Supply voltage: 3.3 V

ii. Supply current: max 800 mA

iii. Operational temperature: 0 C to 60 C

33 | P a g e

iv. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

4. Nano-Com ANT430: i. Operational temperature: -40 C to +60 C

ii. Mass: 30 g

iii. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

5. Nano-Eye Antenna Release: i. Supply voltage: 3.3 V

ii. Supply current nominal: 5 mA

iii. Operational temperature: industrial range

iv. Dimensions: 96 mm x 90 mm x (16 x 26) mm

v. Mass: 45 g

vi. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

6. Nano-Powerpack 1U: i. Photovoltaic power up to 30 W

ii. Two regulated power buses: 3.3 V @ 5A & 5V @ 4A

iii. Battery capacity: 2600 mAh

iv. Operational temperature: industrial range

v. PCB material: glass / polyimide IPC 6012C cl .3/A

Future Advancements

The present design and the construction is only capable of sustaining radiation and temperature up to

certain level. The future is to develop such high end components which are capable of sustaining the outer

atmospheric conditions. So that they would not die while released in the outer space far away from the

conditions near the earth.

There should aso be an vast improvement needed for the power supplied that are used in the satellites as

the near by satellites can work on the solar energy but the one’s which are launched far away from the sun,

cannot get enough solar energy that can store and run these devices.

If these things are improved than man can easily send these satellite’s as far as they want at a cheaper

expense than ever.

Referances

http://gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-nanoeye

http://www.gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-ax100

http://www.gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-a3200

http://www.gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-ant430

http://www.gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-hub

http://www.gomspace.com/index.php?p=products-motherboard

http://www.astrobio.net/topic/solar-system/jupiter/europa/radar-techniques-used-in-antarctica-will-

scour-europa-for-life-supporting-environments/

www.nasa.com/eurupa/mission.

www.wikipedia.com