OreSat1 is a two-unit cubic satellite set to deploy into Low-Earth Orbit (LOE) sometime in early 2022. Its position and orientation will be controlled using “magnetorquers”, or solenoids with core materials, assigned to the three cartesian axes x, y, and z. These magnetic coils will be supplemented by mechanical reaction wheels to harmonize satellite stabilization. In addition to detumbling the satellite after launch, finer positional adjustments will engage the star-tracker cameras, the Cirrus flux cloud monitoring cameras, and the external solar panels. Joined by two faculty leads Ben Mcmorran and Greg Bothun, the University of Oregon undergraduate TorqueDucks Team sought to answer one primary research question: How do we maximize the magnetic dipole moment of a magnetorquer to generate the greatest possible torque pursuant to optimal attitude control? This question was further narrowed by project constraints including power budgets, payload limitations, material restrictions, cost, and geometric implementation.
The presentation details the research, design, construction, and integration of an optimized magnetorquer system complete with two cylindrical magnetorquers and one coreless octagonal coil.
Included is a synopsis of material choice and mathematical derivations used to determine the most heavily weighted factors for maximizing the magnetic dipole moments.
The production of magnetorquer rods including coil winding, machining, and 3D printing will be addressed, as well as the testing apparatus used and the results found.