CubeSat Development

Objective

Develop the 2U CubeSat, VisionCube

Primary mission
Observation of the transient luminous events, a.k.a. MegaLightning from the low Earth orbit
– Detect the event using a MaPMT (Multi-anode Photo Multiplier Tube) detector
– Reorient the CubeSat and acquire the TLE images

Primary mission of the CubeSat VisionCube

System Configuration

Payload system (PS)
Attitude Determination and Control system (ADCS)
Electrical Power system (EPS)
Command and Data Handling system (CDHS)
Communication system (CS)

2U CubeSat VisionCube System
2U CubeSat VisionCube System interface diagram
VisionCube Specification

Payload system (PS)

Payload system architecture
Developed Payload hardware (Right: MaPMT with Pinhole lens, Left: CMOS imager with fixed-focus lens)

Ground test

To evaluate the performance of the TLE observation system, ground experiments have been performed. To do this, virtual TLE sources using UV LEDs with various wavelengths, attached to the wall inside of dark box with 3×3 array configuration, are employed.

Adjusted small power to mimic the weak intensity of the TLE occurence, the LEDs flashes randomly with the short duration (~5msec) and the TLE observation system should detect the LED and take images over the Region of interest where the TLE event occurs.

TLE Observation System Ground Test Setup
Detection of the imitated TLE events from the MaPMT sensor (Latency is about 664usec)
Images from the CMOS imager after detection of the TLE pulses

Korea Aerospace University