Plug-and-Play Compatibility for CubeSat Attitude Determination and Control Systems

The development of Plug-and-play Compatibility for CubeSat Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADACS) is proposed. Existing Maryland Aerospace (MAI) ADACS technologies are well-capable of autonomously providing complete attitude determination and control to satellites weighing up to 20kg. It is essential for these ADACS technologies to be fully compliant with a Plug-and-Play standard that allows them to integrate seamlessly into rapid spacecraft development. One solution for Plug-and-Play is the Space Plug-and-play Architecture (SPA) bus developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), which is currently being adopted by many spacecraft developers for its low-cost, low-power, and simple design. A program for development of the electronics and firmware is outlined to create SPA compatibility technologies for CubeSat and NanoSat ADACS. This technology is significant because not only does it extend the capability of current low cost spacecraft to tactical imaging, space environment monitoring, and other missions requiring precision fine pointing, it provides a tremendous amount of flexibility in spacecraft mission design. Future NASA spacecraft development will no longer have to expend time and energy to develop an attitude solution.