Design, implementation, and thermal modeling of embedded reconfigurable magnetorquer system for nanosatellites

A reconfigurable magnetorquer coil has been designed and implemented for the CubeSat power management, attitude determination, and control tile (CubePMT) module of CubeSat-standard nanosatellites. Magnetorquer coil is a good choice for attitude control and stabilization of nanosatellites. The goal of this work is to provide CubeSat with a magnetorquer coil, which has small dimensions, low weight, and low heat dissipation. The designed magnetorquer coil is reconfigurable and integrated within the printed circuit board internal layers, occupying no extra space on CubeSat. Coils in each layer are treated separately and can be attached and detached through straps. Changing the arrangement of these straps, one can use 1, 2, 3, or 4 coils in series, parallel, or any hybrid combination. This reconfigurable design provides an option for generating different amounts of magnetic moment and resultant torque to stabilize and rotate the satellite. Emissivity of the CubePMT module was found through lab experiments. Power dissipation and the corresponding temperature increase of the CubePMT module are evaluated by thermal modeling.