PW-Sat

Our group is part of the Students’ Space Association at the Warsaw University of Technology. Starting from 2004, we have been creating international teams committed to designing and developing satellites. In 2018, soon after the launch of PW-Sat2, our team started planning the next mission. Currently, over 20 students specializing in various engineering fields are working to get PW-Sat3 ready for launching in 2023. The mission plan aims to test the following subsystems developed by Association members: 1. Cold-gas propulsion–The growing number of satellite constellations causes high demand for propulsion systems on the CubeSat market. Following this trend, our student team designed a butane propulsion system with an additional heating chamber and membrane for phase separation. According to the mission plan, the device will perform orbit correction and deorbit manoeuvres to address the collision risk and space debris problems. 2. Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) –Essential to performing manoeuvres with the cold-gas propulsion. We are developing our own pointing algorithms including SIL/HIL simulation solutions based on COTS components. We are also considering testing Earth Horizon Sensors based on low-res IR matrices as the secondary ADCS experiment. 3. Ham radio experiments-similarly to the PW-Sat2 team, we also want to leave a positive mark on the Ham radio society. Besides making the telemetry public, the team is working on implementing a transponder and various easter eggs to make interacting with the satellite interesting and fun.