Design, prototyping, and testing of multispectral photometer sensor CubeSat board for SCOOBI student satellite

Abstract

CubeSats are a class of spacecraft mainly used for research, called nanosatellites. Their size can be defined in standard dimension units (U) of 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm [1]. SCOOB-I, or SCOOBI, is a 3U CubeSat currently being designed and built by students and researchers at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Satellite Research Centre (SaRC). Its main science mission is to detect and characterise the electromagnetic spectral emissions of the Sun and Earth in the Near-Infrared, Visible, and Ultraviolet spectrum ranges. This Final Year Project report will mainly cover the design, implementation, and testing of the payload components of SCOOBI. These components include the multispectral photometer sensor board, payload interfacing module, and thermocouple conversion components integrated on the payload interfacing module itself. Each component’s hardware design will first be elaborated upon, followed by details on its software design and operation. A section will also be dedicated for the testing procedures conducted on the multispectral photometer sensor board and its results. Despite the disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 situation at the current time, a large portion of the project was able to be completed smoothly. The end products of this project will contribute a major step to the completion of the SCOOBI CubeSat, as well as provide valuable hardware and software components for other current and future research missions.