Cubesat mission with technological demonstrator payload for high data rate downlink and health monitoring

The HyperCube payload will be composed by two different technological experiment, an high data-rate C band antenna, and a demonstrator for a remote structural health monitoring system. The first one has been thought with the aim to give Cubesats the capability to download an high quantity of data; it could be useful either if the data requiring the high data-rate downlink is on-board generated or simply retransmitted. The applications for which this payload could be used are several; an example for the first category of application is to download the data generated by another payload; the high data-rate capability could be necessary due to the narrow visibility window with the ground station, affected also by the absence of an active AOCS subsystem, which makes difficult the alignment of the on board antenna with the ground one. But the C band antenna could also be used to act as a “space–repeater”, downloading up–linked information. The second payload is related to the need to take under strictly control the health of the structures (not only the ones strictly belonging to primary structures, but also that of any subsystem component). In order to do that, smart materials are integrated into the structural component that need to be monitored; in particular, piezoelectric patches are used as sensors. As the structure is stressed, and the integrated piezoelectric sensors are subjected to mechanical deformation, they produce an electric signal; acquiring and properly studying the produced signal it is possible to monitor the mechanical condition of the structures. The health monitoring system is completed by a MicroController Unit which acquires, samples and stores the signal produced, and a transmitting system, which could be the C band antenna, or the TT&C antenna which each satellite needs.