Design of a solar sail as the propulsion system for a nanosatellite

Abstract

This project presents the design of a solar sail as a feasible solution to thrust nanosatellites. A solar sail is a high-energy space propulsion system that uses solar radiation pressure to push large ultra-thin mirror to high speed, enabling the combination of low-cost operations with long operating lifetimes. In this project, the Solar Sail Module (SSM) is designed to be packed into a Plug and Play (PnP) module of 2U size (20cm x 10cm x 10cm). The solar sail is aimed for cubesats performing missions orbiting the Moon. Basically, the sail is sized for a trajectory that departs from GEO, follows a spiral to escape from the Earth and finally drives the nanosatellite to the target lunar orbit. The SSM detailed design has been done using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components. The overall design of the SSM is presented by a CAD design done in CATIAv5. With respect to the trajectory calculation, a 4 body problem is implemented through a self-developed Matlab® code with RKF7 integrator. The trajectory calculation enables the validation of the SSM design to propel spacecraft up to 8kg in less than 3.6 years to the vicinity of the Moon. The main contribution of this work is to provide the nanosatellites community with a feasible PnP SSM that can drive this kind of satellites from the Earth to the Moon