28th January 2009: Update

The group is now moving into the second semester, meaning that the academic year is more than half way through. As a result of new timetables, the group design meetings are to be rescheduled for Mondays.

Chris Welch, project supervisor, shall hopefully be attending a CubeSat Development Workshop in California at the end of April. This would permit sharing of ideas and discussions with many other CubeSat developers around the world. Such an opportunity would definitely be of benefit for the KUbeSat groups in academic years to come.

Technical reports for thermal control, power systems and payload are nearing completion, allowing design decisions and provisional selection of components to be made. Further structural analysis is to be carried out and the feasibility of using a vibration table at Penrhyn Road campus is to be investigated.

A KUbeSat Programme synopsis has been created, which is simply a project summary document to be supplied to interested parties and students. This serves the purpose of generating interest in the project while providing key information and group contact details for those people who wish to learn more or somehow become involved in the programme themselves.

  

Considerable progress has been made with regard to allocation of work for KUbeSat. I have taken over structures, wherein further research into the structural design of a CubeSat will be undertaken. In this regard, vibrational and other environmental requirements will be taken account of. This will then be supplemented with a Stress/Strain Analysis of the basic KUbeSat structure. Jack has offered to write two technical reports; one on Clean Room and the other on gauging the advantages/disadvantages and suitability of prototyping software into a smaller architecture since purchasing one would be too expensive. Alex is to finish up his TR on Payload subsystem by this week whih will be reviewed by the group. Chris has offered to look into the modalities of installing an antenna mast at Roevale. All in all we're in good shape for next meeting.

The project team has recently returned from the christmas holidays and work is now resumed, but before the holidays, the team submitted their required technical reports on Facilities, Communications, Satellite Deployment, ADCS, Structure and Ground Station. Jack Burrell has made a rough solidworks model of a double monoblock structure for the KUbesat to give the team a greater familiarity of the shape than what a simple 2-D drawing would provide. It has been established that the manufacturing facilities available at Roehampton Vale Campus are adequate for fabrication of the satellite structure. Formal contact has been established with AMSAT-UK for ground station related information. The team is also evaluating the feasibility of installing a communications tower on university grounds. Such an undertaking will have to involve approval from the university adminsitration and the local Council as well as substantial funds.