Analysis and Synthesis of Motion of Aerodynamically Stabilized Nanosatellites of the CubeSat Design

Abstract

The motion of aerodynamically stabilized nanosatellites of the CubeSat design is studied. The features of the nanosatellites behavior in low orbits are conditioned both by the atmospheric effects and their own mass and inertial characteristics: the lifetime of nanosatellites is shorter, while the angular acceleration generated by the aerodynamic moment is much higher as compared with big satellites having large mass. CubeSats may experience resonance modes of motion caused by the shape factor of a rectangular parallelepiped. In addition, the existing commercial CubeSat deployers often generate large initial angular velocities that are random in nature. The conditions that cause the specific features of the CubeSat motion are considered and analyzed. A probabilistic approach to choosing their mass and inertial characteristics is proposed. The problems of motion stabilization are studied, and recommendations are formulated on the design of aerodynamically stabilized CubeSats with a passive/active magnetic damping system.