Open-Source Radiation Testing Apparatus and Electrical Power Supply Design for CubeSat Missions

Abstract

The continuing miniaturization of computing technology and the increasing popularity of CubeSats among a growing market of modest-budget developers have revolutionized the space industry by enabling cost-effective access to space. However, ensuring reliability remains a paramount concern. This thesis describes research that addresses two critical reliability drivers for CubeSat missions: radiation effects and power system design. Characterizing the sensitivity of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to ionizing radiation can be challenging for inexperienced CubeSat developers. To bridge this gap, an open-source, versatile radiation testing platform is investigated and implemented. This automated platform leverages a modular design, allowing rapid testing of up to 24 devices in a particle accelerator beamline during a single testing session, thereby enhancing data collection efficiency and lowering costs. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for estimating error rates in low Earth orbit. On any spacecraft, the Electrical Power Supply (EPS) is a mission-critical subsystem, and its reliability is crucial. An innovative open-source EPS design is proposed with fault tolerance features and novel attributes including adaptive single-event latchup detection, a battery charge inhibit scheme for low temperatures, and a power-saving control scheme. A complete hardware prototype is built and tested, demonstrating promising efficiency, fault tolerance, and overall functionality, that matches or exceeds the performance of COTS EPSs. Both the software and hardware for both projects are intended to be open-source, contributing to the CubeSat community by providing accessible design resources for enhancing reliability. By offering economical radiation testing and an adaptable and feature-rich EPS solution, the result of this research project should accelerate the development of cost-effective CubeSat missions, empowering researchers to focus on mission-specific scientific payloads and novel contributions to space exploration.