Project number
18096
Organization
UA Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Academic year
2018-2019
Scientists at UA’s Earth Dynamics Observatory monitor climate change by studying ice sheets. They hope to create new comprehensive maps of the Antarctic and Greenlandic ice sheets using a small satellite-mounted sounding radar system. This system will use 50 megahertz radar pulses to detect layering and depth information over immense swaths of ice. To support the sounding radar, subsystems for power, interface and communications were designed. Specific considerations were accounted for through trade studies comparing commercial off-the shelf options. Analysis of component performance against system requirements was conducted using Matlab, Solidworks and STK software. Custom-built prototypes of non-readily available components, the instrument interface and antenna deployment system allowed hardware testing to prove conceptual readiness. Integrating these components together created a CubeSat concept that accommodates the requirements of a sounding instrument that could survive over 60 days of operation in space.