Satellite structural scheme

en_module palydovo_sandara

  1. Satellite motherboard
  2. Partners plate
  3. Communications transceiver board
  4. Power supply board
  5. Linear transponder
  6. Commutation board
  7. Safe launch board
1. Satellite motherboard. Pagrindinė plokštėThe satellite motherboard contains the main satellite processor with ARM Cortex M4 core, a GPS receiver, temperature sensors, a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope and a triaxial magnetic field sensor. The data from all sensors and the main processor of the GPS receiver is constantly stored in an SD card from which data can be transmitted to a station on the Earth.

2. Partners plate is made of titaniom. Rėmėjų plokštė It is inserted between the main satellite board and communication board. The sponsor plate plays  double role. It contains the mission ”Lituanica 80” symbols and the excerpt from the will of our legendary pilots S. Darius and S. Girenas. Those words will commemorate the remembrance of our inspirers. The other side of the plate contains the symbolics of all our sponsors which helped and supported us all the way from the primary idea to the space orbit.

3. Communications transceiver board Komunikacinė siųstuvo – imtuvo plokštėcontains the Hellium radio transceiver. The LitSat-1 satellite will use the transceiver radio link to digitally broadcast the three words chosen by the people of Lithuania. The radio link will be used to receive the commands from the ground station and to transmit the data acquired during the travel in the space orbit. The communications board is controlled by main processor. The data packet will include the data about energetic status, temperature, magnetic field and other orbital parameters.

4. Power supply board Maitinimo šaltinio plokštėcontains the power source of the LitSat-1 satellite. Power supply board contains the power source of the LitSat-1 satellite.. The batteries are constantly charged from the solar cells when the Sun light is sufficient. The solar cells cover the most surface area of the satellite. The energy generated by the solar cells energy is distributed between the satellite battery and the main modules by smart algorithms which include MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) and smart module commutation.

5. The linear transponder Tiesinis transponderisis built into the satellite LitSat-1.  The linear transponder allows to use the satellite LitSat-1 as the radio transceiver in space. The bandwidth provided by linear transponder is sufficient to rebroadcast messages by Morse code and also by audio channel using preferred type of modulation. The transponder will include its unique radio beacon message.

6. Commutation board Komutacinė plokštėconsists of antenna commutator unit which allows the satellite LitSat-1 to share one external radio antenna between communication and linear transponder boards.  The processor located on the commutation board acquires data from the light sensors and the temperature sensors. These sensors are mounted on each solar cell. The information from the temperature and light sensors will help to determine the orientation of the satellite regarding the Sun. The data from these sensors will indicate periods when the satellite is in the dark zone.

7. Safe launch system is implemented in the chassis of the satellite. The safe launch system ensures the disconnection of the electrical part of the satellite until it gets launched into space. The mechanical switch grid consisting of 4 switches is supplemented with additional subsystem which ensures that satellite is switched on after a fixed time after the launch moment. As every space device, the satellite LitSat-1 has the logistic safety system which is disabled by the RBF (Remove before flight) pull-off switch.

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