ON THE DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, AND RADIATION EFFECT PREVENTION OF A 6U DEEP SPACE CUBESAT by Michael Cullen Halvorson A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, AL December 12, 2020 Keywords: Deep Space CubeSat, Orbit Thermal Modeling, Electric Propulsion Optimization, Radiation Tolerance Copyright 2020 by Michael Cullen Halvorson Approved by Dr. David G. Beale, Chair, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Daniel K. Harris, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Thaddeus H. Roppel, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Michael Fogle Jr., Associate Professor of Physics Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this thesis is my own or was done in collaboration of my advisory committee. This thesis does not include proprietary or classified information except where permission was given. _________________________________________________ Michael Cullen Halvorson Certificate of Approval: _________________________________ David G. Beale, Chair Professor Mechanical Engineering _________________________________ ________________________________ Thaddeus H. Roppel Daniel K. Harris Associate Professor Associate Professor Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering _________________________________ _________________________________ Michael Fogle Jr Jeffrey Suhling Associate Professor Department Chair Physics Mechanical Engineering ii Permission is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this thesis at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions and at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. _____________________________ Signature of Author _____________________________ Date iii VITA Michael Halvorson is an Aeromechanical Engineer from Montgomery, AL. His mother, Melanie, is an internal medicine nephrologist, and his father, David, is an otolaryngological surgeon. With five generations of medical doctors in his immediate ancestry, academia was always the plan. Michael graduated with undergraduate degrees in both Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University in 2017 and is graduating from a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering upon submission of this thesis. Michael’s background includes study in CubeSat technical engineering, radiation dose mitigation, aeroacoustics, convective and radiative heat transfer, composite material fabrication, spacecraft propulsion, and shape memory alloy application; he will transition into a Ph.D. in Aeromechanical Engineering in Spring 2021. iv ABSTRACT ON THE DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, AND RADIATION EFFECT PREVENTION OF A 6U DEEP SPACE CUBESAT Michael C. Halvorson Master of Science, November 5th, 2020 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, 2017) (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, 2017) The Alabama Space Grant Consortium initiated a workforce development program across seven universities to build a 6U CubeSat with an astrophysics payload. The science mission, an investigation on the efficacy of augmented lunar regolith as radiation shielding, required the CubeSat to be outside of the magnetosphere for maximal data return. Artemis II was the only launch vehicle capable of achieving the science distance requirement and released a solicitation for CubeSat secondary payloads. Significant research in deep space thermal modeling, electric propulsion optimization, and high frequency communications strategy was completed. Artemis II canceled its CubeSat opportunity, but the first comprehensive guide to deep space CubeSat design is conferred to the CubeSat development community. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would first and foremost like to thank Dr. David Beale, without whom he could not have had such a rewarding and extensive educational experience. Dr. Dan Harris is thanked for always having his door open for questions, and Dr. L. Dale Thomas is thanked for tirelessly supporting those who reach for the stars. Thank you to Drs. Melanie and David Halvorson for supporting the author’s dream of becoming a leader in deep space satellite design, both emotionally and financially. Thank you to Amanda, who is always there to listen. Finally, thank you to all the faculty and students across the state of Alabama who made this work possible. Alabama Space Akeia Williams University of University of Grant South Alabama Alabama Consortium Jalen Woodland Dr. Carlos Dr. Patrick Kung Dr. L. Dale Aleya Hamilton Montalvo Thomas Dr. Jaber Abu- Kaylee Murrey Dr. Saeed Latif Qahouq Debora Nielson Jessalyn Peoples Darcey D’Amato Ricardo Avila Brooke Graham De’Aires Ruthie Hill Adam Baker Scroggins William Sherman Chase Barksdale Alabama A&M Joshua Seals Maxwell Cobar Caleb Cooper Cyean Johnson Vincent Oberkirch Meagan DeNardo Rodney Morgan Tuskegee University Ismael Hamadou Austin Steele Aniekan Ruffin Jared Brown Josh Berglund Bailey Adams Robert Bryant Austin Harris Robert Clark Ethan Brooks Brevin Davis Tamunoenefaa James Paul Elijah Billy Deutsch Kashta Dozier- Harry Saucier Muhammad Lauren Faris Robyn King Willie Ford Andrew Glenn Zach Johnson Immanuel Momoh Benjamin Barnes Ja’Kira Jackson Bracken Jones Zarren Riley Fredrick Chuks Duane Johnson Tristan Phillips Michael Rowe Tayjon Culley Trevaughn Nettles Yuankun Zhao Patrick Rozell Lawrence Derrius Plair Oberkirch Mason Blanke Maya York Micah Taylor Joshua Sewell Cassie DeSalvo Tony White Spencer Davis vi Garrett Giddings Berk Adanur Sierra Jacbos Logan Williams Chuck Gehrdes Johannes Allen Louis Buckalew Nicolas Hoepfner Jarrett Rory Alston Tyler Evans Noah Cargile Montgomery Trevor Garrison Connor Jones Ryan Mueller Jody Davis Brian Lim Kendall Wichman Tiana Ramos Hayden Roy Jonathan Walt Kelly Ivan Garcia Julia Lisac Marquardt Colin Finnegan Jake Houston Palmer Swanson Paul Minda Daniel Keith Mark Bentz Diego Beeker Lydia Mitchell Hunter Bernier Alex Walker Austin Obanian Philip Snitzer Cam McLean University of Andrew Parvino Alabama in Michael Prince Colton Bevel Ryan Reeves Huntsville Aleha Crumpton Drew Mullinax Matthew Sanford Dr. Michael Jordan Cox Eddie Strickland Briggs Christian Smith Kevin Hubbard Grant Holbrook Jared Fuchs Noah Pitts Luke Harvey Mikah Abbott Chandler Ellis Zach Slemmons Cameron Baker Scot Carpenter Alex Spalding Andrew Jake Stamps Joseph Langan Victor Lopez Kozlowski Matthew Entrekin Nathan Brooks Brandon Alana Flint Molyneaux Divy Dishant Kowshik Vadlamudi Grant Robertson William Griffin Auburn Matthew Bottom Houston Walley University Brock Buchanan Frank Brown Leah Lee Dr. David Beale Arkaradech Bryan Hardaker Theo Zinner Dr. Dan Harris Zornnetr Eric Bradshaw Blake Schilleci Chris Gomes Austin McLendon Evan Johnson Michael Johnson Colin Holtkamp Joey Hoke Jerry Kigerl Allen Barrett Ryan Collins Nick Hope Hayden Patteson Dakota Coffman Thad Hatcher Sydnee Shadoan Jonathan Coleman Michael Robins Tyler Jackson vii FOREWORD This document is a guide on the design tasks required of a deep space CubeSat development program before Preliminary Design Review (PDR) using the Alabama Experiment on Galactic- ray In-situ Shielding (AEGIS) spacecraft as a case study. Many space mission design textbooks, reports, and presentations have been parsed for information most relevant to deep space CubeSat design, and several novel methodologies are introduced. The most prominent contributions to the field of deep space satellite design are an Earth to Moon thermal model and a modified electric propulsion optimization scheme for small spacecraft. AEGIS was commissioned, organized, and developed by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC), and the described program architecture can be emulated by any state or organization that encompasses multiple colleges or universities willing to contribute senior design teams or student groups to the cause. The present work was written by the Chief Engineer, Michael Halvorson, but it contains analyses by the Program Manager, Jared Fuchs, and the Lead Systems Engineer, Victor Lopez, along with undergraduate student contributions that were guided or assigned by the Chief Engineer. Work that does not come directly from the author is acknowledged where included. Space hardware design and synthesis approaches are discussed at length, but limited information is provided on Systems Engineering (SE), Integration, Verification, and Testing (IV&T), and Command and Data Handling (C&DH). Flight Software provisions are specific to Concept of Operations (ConOps) development and radiation tolerance. Of the works cited, 15 are textbooks, 195 are scholarly papers or presentations, and 78 are websites, mostly NASA resources, online software tools, and satellite home pages. Complete overviews of radiation environments, effects of radiation on spacecraft, and radiation analysis procedures are detailed. Acronyms and nomenclature are provided at the end. It is the hope of the author that this organized collection of knowledge, skills, and methods will be the first resource for undergraduate and graduate students who wish to design a deep space CubeSat. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS VITA ..............................................................................................................................................................................iv ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................................vi