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This work discusses the integration of the subsystems in a CubeSat satellite and the implementation of a central "On-Board Controller & Data Handling" system. Potential radiation problems are investigated and addressed. CubeSTAR is a CubeSat satellite developed at the University of Oslo. The satellite requires some method of handling commands and sending data to the ground station. The satellite needs to be autonomous, so a method of coordinating the operation of each subsystem is required. The On-Board Controller integrates all the satellite's subsystems to a unified control- and monitoring system. It will make sure each subsystem performs its operation and attempts recovery if something is out of the ordinary. Space radiation can cause memory bit-flips and other effects on electronics within a satellite. In case a subsystem does not function as expected or has disruptive behavior, it will need to be recovered or disabled. The On-Board Controller addresses the memory bit-flip problem caused by space radiation by using a new memory technology (MRAM) and a special 8-bit hamming code for commands and variables.
About the author
Joakim Myrland has an master degree from University of Oslo in Norway. After finishing his research work he shifted his focus towards various sensor technologies, and has been leading the development of several embedded devices.
