Novel low cost standardized Nano-Satellite structure bus for LEO missions

This paper focuses on SRMSAT STRUCTURE BUS which is a standardized Nano-Satellite structure bus. It provides a standard platform for a wide variety of missions in LEO and can be realized in a very short developmental period. The bus was designed and developed for SRMSAT, the SRM University (Sri Ramaswamy Memorial University) student Nano-Satellite, by the undergraduate students and faculty of SRM University in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The bus can support payloads up to a mass of 20kg. SRMSAT STRUCTURE BUS has a mass of around 6 kg and dimensions 280mm × 280mm × 280mm with an available volume of 11000 cc. Vibration Testing of the bus has been performed upto 6.7 gRMS. This makes the satellite capable of being launched by any launch vehicle in the world. An innovative PCB mounting design has been introduced in this structure bus which facilitates mounting of a maximum 7 PCB trays independently, each tray capable of holding a 250 mm
²
PCB. Structural analysis of SRMSAT STRUCTURE BUS was done using NX Nastran. The boundary conditions for each analysis were defined based on the loading conditions as specified by the launcher, PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). Optimization of each individual component was performed by maintaining a minimum threshold between the local frequencies of the component and global frequencies of the entire satellite. Static, Modal, Harmonic and Random Vibration analysis of the structure bus was performed. This paper also describes the methodology followed in the static and dynamic analysis of the structure bus to finalize the design. The results have been tested and validated at ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore with around 90% accuracy and the structure has been certified as a standard structure bus for Nano-satellite missions. In terms of expandability, this structure bus is capable of accommodating deployable solar panels. Also, the payload mounting is not only restricted to the bottom deck but can also be done in the top or side decks as required for specific missions. This enhances the scope of small satellites which has not been possible with previous satellites of the same size. SRMSAT which utilized this bus was launched on-board PSLV C-18 on 12th October 2011 with the scientific objective of measuring greenhouse gases, namely CO
₂
and H
₂
O.