Design and Development of a Custom-Build ADCS for METUCube Satellite
53rd IAF Student Conference at the 76th International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2025, Sydney, Avustralya, 29 Eylül - 03 Ekim 2025, ss.332-347, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Doi Numarası: 10.52202/083098-0030
- Basıldığı Şehir: Sydney
- Basıldığı Ülke: Avustralya
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.332-347
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), CubeSat, Magnetorquers, Sun Sensor
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
METUCube is a 3U CubeSat developed by students at Middle East Technical University (METU), representing the university's first student-designed satellite. The mission aims at post-disaster monitoring and the evaluation of early warning systems, for which the satellite carries a multispectral and thermal imaging payload. Since high-quality imaging requires accurate pointing, this study focuses on the design and implementation of the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) of METUCube. The ADCS integrates custom-developed Sun sensors, magnetorquers, and a star tracker, together with an ADCS computer that coordinates all subsystems. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) gyroscopes, magnetometers, and reaction wheels are used in the design of ADCS. The custom Sun sensor integrates photodiodes mounted on a pyramid structure, with the Sun vector estimated through a linear least squares algorithm. Magnetorquers are designed with iron cores for two axes and an air core for the third axis, controlled via pulse-width modulation. The developed star tracker combines a COTS image sensor, lens, and microprocessor, and executes the Quaternion Estimator (QUEST) algorithm onboard to provide an independent fine-pointing solution. ADCS algorithms, including estimation and control methods, are implemented in real time on the ADCS computer.