Towards an innovative electrical interface standard for PocketQubes and CubeSats

Abstract

Developers experience issues with the compatibility, connector size and robustness of electrical interface standards for CubeSats and PocketQubes. There is a need for a lean and robust electrical interface standard for these classes of satellites. The proposed interface standard comprises a linear data bus which is used for housekeeping data, internal commands and small-to-moderate payload data. A community based analytic hierarchy process is used for the trade-off of design options, resulting in the selection of RS-485 as standard data bus, mainly due to its low power consumption and high effective data throughput compared to other candidates. Several switched and protected battery voltage lines are distributed from the central electrical power subsystem unit to the other subsystems to enable a simple and efficient power distribution. The harness comprises a 14 and 9 pin stackable connector for CubeSats and PocketQubes, respectively, occupying very little board space.