Ground-Based Attitude Determination and Control System Testing

Automation of Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) commissioning steps and verification of actuator polarity on the ground for CubeSats can help decrease the overall commissioning timeline after deployment and allow nominal science observations to begin sooner, saving time for ground operators and maximizing science return. This work focused on the verification and validation of the ADCS software and commissioning steps for the Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI) satellite, a 6U CubeSat whose ADCS was supplied by CubeSpace Satellite Systems. The integrated HyTI CubeSat was tested on the Attitude Control System Testbed (ACSTB) logated at the Hawai'i Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL), a laboratory at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. The tests utilized a Helmholtz cage, a single axis air bearing, and a motion-tracking system. The simulations were performed using the Earth Orbiting Satellite Simulation Software (EOS) provided by CubeSpace