Space Buds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZa6cD9xq2c

https://github.com/Ian-Carroll/Space-Buds

PLEASE NOTE: A complete design report for this project can be found in our GitHub repository, linked above.

Our design separates two spacecraft parts safely and reliably, without the use of pyrotechnics. It uses a brushless DC motor connected to a gearbox to drive a threaded rod. This rod is threaded into the part being released, and the two are also held together by interlocking casings. When the motor is driven and the rod is removed from the part, a small spring jettisons the part in a controlled manner. There are also holes in the interlocking shrouds for backup "remove before flight" pins which reduce the likelihood of a mishap on the ground.

The team also designed a motor control PCB with a CANBUS interface which allows for control of the separation mechanism from a central controller. This PCB is suitable for space applications, and make our design more fully-featured.

This design is completely reusable, which can cut down on costs for recoverable rocket operators such as SpaceX. It also has the benefit of being very low-shock, so sensitive payloads can be deployed using this system. The design is very small, fitting within the given size requirements, but is also very scalable, which could simplify the design process for space operators which need to jettison multiple payload types.

All mechanical design for this project was done in SolidWorks, including renders, animations and finite element analysis. Electrical design was done in KiCAD, including schematics, layout and renders. Google drive, Git and GitHub were used for collaboration between team members.

NASA and CSA data was used extensively throughout this project. We consulted these agencies’ resources for information on difficult design decisions, particularly those which are specific to space. Topics like vacuum compatibility, launch loads, cold welding, materials and space conditions are covered extensively by NASA and partner agencies. A list of agency resources used can be found in our design report’s references section.

Our team was very happy with the Space Apps experience. We were able to work together and benefit from each other’s strengths to create a strong design which we feel solves the given problem in an innovative way.

Our team was inspired to choose this challenge because we have members from many different backgrounds - mechanical, electrical and computer engineering - and this challenge offers engineering problems in each of these fields. This allowed each team member to work within their expertise.

Our team approached the problem very openly, and spent a significant amount of time brainstorming and drafting. Once we settled on a design, we broke up the work into discrete tasks which could be completed individually, while still making sure that we remained in constant communication. We finally brought our work back together to form an integrated and well-documented design.

Setbacks and challenges were resolved by reaching out to trusted sources such as Space Apps and NASA documents, while also consulting other team members. We found that difficult problems were best solved together rather than alone.

We’d like to thank the Space Apps organizers, both locally and internationally for making sure that this event was so successful. We’d also like to thank the sponsors of this event for making it possible. We really enjoyed creating our solution and look forward to doing the same next year!

Thanks,

Shane, Noah, Ian, Nick, Aidan and Madison

Badescu, M., Bao, X., & Bar-Cohen, Y. (n.d.). Shape memory alloy (SMA)-based launch lock.

Pasadena, CA: NASA.

Chartres, J., & Cappuccio, G. (2017, August 3). Nanosatellite Launch Adapter System (NLAS).

Retrieved from NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/engineering/small-sat/nlas

Garner, R. (2020, May 22). Sun-Earth. Retrieved from NASA:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html

McMASTER-CARR. (2021, October). 302 Stainless Steel Corrosion-Resistant Compression

Springs. Retrieved from McMASTER-CARR: https://www.mcmaster.com/2006N219

McMASTER-CARR. (2021, October). Titanium Threaded Rod. Retrieved from McMASTER-

CARR: https://www.mcmaster.com/96095A150

Microchip Technology Inc. (2014). High-Speed CAN Flexible Data Rate Transceiver. Chandler,

AZ: Microchip Technology Inc.

Microchip Technology Inc. (2017-2018). External CAN FD Controller with SPI Interface.

Chandler, AZ: Microchip Technology Inc.

NASA. (2020). Separation Device Launches New Science Payloads. Retrieved from NASA

Spinoff: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2020/ip_8.html

onsemi. (2018). Step-Down Regulator - Automotive, Low-Iq, Dual-Mode . Semiconductor

Components Industries, LLC.

Portescap. (2021, October). 16ECP36 Ultra EC Slotless Brushless DC Motor. Retrieved from

Portescap: https://www.portescap.com/en/products/brushless-dc-motors/16ecp36-ultra-ec-

slotless-brushless-dc-motor

Portescap. (2021, October). R16 Sleeve Bearing Mini Motor Gearhead. Retrieved from Portescap:

https://www.portescap.com/en/products/accessories/gearheads/r16-sleeve-bearing-mini-

motor-gearhead

PRODUCT DATA of 01: Aluminium and its Alloys. (n.d.). Retrieved from spacematdb:

https://www.spacematdb.com/spacemat/datasearch.php?name=01:%20Aluminium%20an

d%20its%20Alloys

PRODUCT DATA of 04: Titanium and its Alloys. (n.d.). Retrieved from spacematdb:

https://www.spacematdb.com/spacemat/datasearch.php?name=04:%20Titanium%20and

%20its%20Alloys

Reynolds, J. M. (n.d.). Materials In Space. Retrieved from NASA:

https://materialsinspace.nasa.gov/home

Sexton, A., Dayton, C., Wedland, R., & Pellicciotti, J. (n.d.). DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND

TESTING OF THE GMI LAUNCH LOCKS. Greenbelt, MD: NASA. Retrieved from

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20110016488/downloads/20110016488.pdf

STMicroelectronics. (2021, October). Ultra-low-power Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU with 32-Kbytes of

Flash memory, 32 MHz CPU . Retrieved from STMicroelectronics:

https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32l031c6.html#overview

Texas Instruments Incorporated. (2021). DRV8308 Brushless DC Motor Controller. Dallas,

Texas: Texas Instruments. Retrieved from Texas Instruments:

https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/drv8308.pdf

UTIAS. (2014). University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Space flight laboratory.

Retrieved from UTIAS SFL: https://www.utias-sfl.net/

hardware, electrical

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.