In-Orbit Demonstration Mission Concept of Bio-Based Materials for Spacecraft Applications

Kurzfassung

This work develops a 3U CubeSat concept to obtain in-orbit data on bio-based materials. The mission uses the International Space Station (ISS) orbit and exposes twelve samples for 8 to 12 months. The selected payload uses four internal cameras with 30 mm deployable mirrors at a 40° angle and forty eight thermocouples. Structural analyses based on the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) loads show stress results below the material strengths in all evaluated cases, with a first natural frequency of 888.74 Hz. Thermal analyses show material dependent sample temperatures; balsa reaches -60 to 18°C in the longest-eclipse mixed-material case, while degraded optical properties increase internal temperatures by about 3 to 4°C and exposed-wood temperatures by about 8 to 30°C. An engineering model confirms that the selected mirror geometry images the full sample height.