Improved command and data handling system for the Delfi-n3Xt nanosatellite

Improved command and data handling system for the Delfi-n3Xt nanosatellite

De Jong, S.
Aalbers, G.T.
Bouwmeester, J.

Aerospace Engineering

Space Engineering

2008-09-01

The Delfi-C3 nanosatellite successor, Delfi-n3Xt, is currently under development at Delft University of Technology. This nanosatellite based on a three-unit CubeSat form factor has been improved through the implementation of a high-speed downlink, three-axis active attitude control and a single-point-failure free implementation of batteries in the electrical power system. Failure of the batteries will therefore not lead to failure of the primary mission as has, in the past, been the case with many other nanosatellite missions. The functional analysis and design of the command and data handling system (CDHS) of Delfi-C3 and the improved CDHS architecture of Delfi-n3Xt are presented in this paper. The main design drivers for the CDHS of Delfi-C3 were the available technology and the absence of batteries. These design drivers enforced specific hardware components which, however, resulted in undesired behavior during integration and testing. In particular low-speed devices on the bus were suppressing the performance of the CDHS and the high-speed systems of Delfi-C3. Delfi-n3Xt requires a higher performance since much more data will be produced by the five payloads, stored and sent down with a high-speed downlink. The architecture presented in this paper complies with this, while it is based on the architecture of Delfi-C3.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:59cc3256-990f-44fa-8ce5-847984061b5e

9781615671601

59th International Astronautical Congress: IAC 2008, 29 September-3 October 2008, Glasgow, Scotland

Institutional Repository

conference paper

(c) 2008 The Author(s)
International Astronautical Federation