This past week members of our team (Mitchell, Dawson, Jimmy, Luis, and Erica) presented the NEUDOSE project at the McMaster Engineering Society's Second Semi-Annual General Meeting (SAGM). The presentation highlighted the project idea, feasibility, and impact on the McMaster community. NEUDOSE would like to thank the MES for their support through their Special Projects Fund! Click on the MES logo to learn more about them.
Mechanical Designing
Ryan, a mechanical engineering student, is one of the students working on the designs of many different components of the satellite. Here, he is sketching ideas for the lower antenna housing that contains the S-band antenna. This antenna is used in the communication between the satellite and Earth, allowing us to send commands and for the satellite transmit scientific data.
Learn More About Each of Us!
Over time, the McMaster NEUDOSE family grows to include new members! To learn more about each of us, click here!
NEUDOSE Team
McMaster NEUDOSE has gotten new team jackets! Richard and Erica, both medical physics students, are wearing the two designs showcasing our mission patch on one arm, and the Canadian flag on the other. If you see someone wearing one of these jackets, feel free to ask them about our project. We love sharing our progress with all of you!
Busy Bees
NEUDOSE is busy at work at one of our weekly meetings!
Up front we have (left to right) Jimmy and Akiv, both electrical and biomedical engineering students, discussing properties of the pads of the printed circuit boards (PCB). These conducting metal pads assist in connecting various components on the PCBs.
In the back we can see (left to right) Alex, an electrical engineering student, Ryan, a mechanical engineering student, and Luis, an automotive and vehicle technology student, conferring with Andrei, our beloved team lead, regarding the mechanical structure of the satellite. While major designs are underway, it is important to work out the logistics and placement of every component of the satellite!
Deployment Discussion
Marc (left), an electrical engineering student, and Devan (right), an engineering physics student, are discussing the logistics of the communication antenna deployment. This antenna will be utilized to transmit collected scientific data from space back to our team on Earth. The coiled design allows the antenna to be stored within the satellite during launch. When appropriate, the antenna will be deployed to a length of approximately 17cm. Current work is being done to ensure the proper deployment of the antenna, including safeguards for scenarios in which the deployment fails.
Burn Wire Mechanism
In order to deploy the solar panels, burn wires are used. When an electric current is passed through the burn wire, it heats up and burns through the tether holding the solar panels in place. This causes the panels to spring open. What happens if the solar panels don't deploy correctly? The Vectran tether employed is made of a specific material that degrades due to ultra-violet radiation. This means that the wire that was once holding the solar panels in place will degrade due to the radiation fields in space. When this wire fully degrades, the solar panels will be deployed as planned! Here is a video depicting the comprising parts of the burn wire mechanism.
Happy birthday, NEUDOSE!
We are very happy to announce the 1 year anniversary of McMaster NEUDOSE. On January 30, 2015, the McMaster CubeSat idea was presented by Dr. Andrei Hanu, and in this one year we have accomplished so much! NEUDOSE started as an idea and now we are well into the design phase. We would like to take this time to graciously thank our team members, sponsors, and all of our supporters for the hard work and encouragement over this past year!
Deployment Hinge Components
In our previous post, we saw how the deployment hinges work (click here to see it again). In this video, we break down the different components that make up the hinges.
Solar Panel Deployment
The NEUDOSE satellite will be launched as a 10cm x 10cm x 30cm rectangular prism. Following stabilization in space, the satellite will then deploy the solar panels, allowing the CubeSat to collect more solar energy to convert to electrical energy. A video of the deployment can be found in a previous post here. A video of the deployment hinges at work is shown below.