Development of a COTS-Based Propulsion System Controller for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat Mission

• Main Authors: Cheek, Nathan, Daniel, Nathan, Lightsey, E. Glenn, Peet, Sterling, Smith, Celeste, Cavender, Daniel
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 2021
• Subjects: South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/2021/all2021/196; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5070&context=smallsat

The Lunar Flashlight mission is designed to send a 6U CubeSat into lunar orbit with the aim of finding water-ice deposits on the lunar south pole. The Glenn Lightsey Research Group (GLRG) within Georgia Tech’s Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) is developing a low-cost propulsion system controller for this satellite using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, with an emphasis on overcoming the harsh environment of lunar orbit through careful architecture and testing. This paper provides in-depth coverage of the Lunar Flashlight Propulsion System (LFPS) controller development and testing processes, showing how an embedded system based on COTS parts can be designed for the intense environment of space. From the high-level requirements architecture to the selection of specific hardware components and software design choices, followed by rigorous environmental testing of the design, radiation and other environmental hardening can be achieved with high confidence.