IAC-17.B4.6B.12: An innovative modularized smartphone satellite with foldable configuration

This paper proposed a low-cost satellite concept that makes use of most components of smartphone. This satellite was scheduled to undertake missions of observing the surface morphology of the earth, and communicating with the ground and other satellites. An innovative foldable configuration with several boxes was created to modularize the whole satellite. This configuration is quite different from classical one box-type one and can provide more efficient layout space for equipment and devices. To meet mission requirements, three functional modules of power, phone and communication were installed in three independent structural boxes. The phone module is composed of the highresolution cameras, micro-sensors, high speed processor, GPS receiver from NOTE2, and provide function of observing the morphology. The power module is composed of external solar cells, internal Lithium-ion battery and power conversion devices, and will provide electricity power for all avionics of the satellite. The communication module is composed of UHF, WIFI, Zigbee, and S-band communication devices, and provides communication function between satellite and ground station, and other satellites. The electronics of all modules are deployed on a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) that connects modules mechanically and electrically. Compared with concepts of existing CubeSat and PhoneSat, the proposed satellite has a lot of advantages in power supplementary, electromagnetic interference restraining, and launch flexibility. The proposed low-cost satellite can be deployed individually or as a colony to execute space missions of observing and communication. In this paper, the mission analysis, design and simulation results, building and ground test are reported.