Sun oriented and powered, 3 axis and spin stabilized CubeSats

CubeSat, a 1 kg 10 × 10 × 10 cm³ picosatellite, has been developed by Stanford University and the California Polytechnic State University for use in student space experiments. These satellites are free flyers, and are ejected from "piggy back" canisters mounted on various launch vehicles. CubeSats currently under development have very limited stabilization capabilities. Most of the CubeSats are actually tumbling satellites. This lack of stabilization significantly limits their performance by reducing their ability to accurately point solar panels and instruments. This paper describes a 3-axis stabilized system and a spin stabilized system for CubeSat. It is used in conjunction with a sun-oriented attitude control system combined with a concentrating solar panel, all of which is achieved with a total mass of under 250 grams, thus allowing adequate mass for CubeSat satellite structure, batteries, and payloads within the 1.0 kg maximum.