Development of a Computer Simulation Tool to Study the Attitude Determination and Control of CubeSats

Abstract

This thesis documents the development and validation of a MATLAB/Simulink simulation tool for the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) of the LORIS CubeSat in development at Dalhousie University for the Canadian CubeSat Project. The simulation tool comprises an approximation of the space environment characteristic of the International Space Station’s orbit, a Simscape-based satellite dynamics model, two attitude controllers, models of the sensors onboard the LORIS CubeSat and the attitude determination algorithms that use them. Use of magnetic attitude control is assessed in simulation for both detumbling and pointing the satellite, while the latter forms the basis for the design of a reaction wheel-based controller capable of meeting LORIS mission requirements. For the conditions used in the simulations, the proposed ADCS control scheme exceeds mission accuracy requirements under many worst-case assumptions.