Open-Source CubeSat Solar Panels: Design, Assembly, Testing, and On-Orbit Demonstration

TL;DR

This paper presents open-source, customizable solar panel designs for CubeSats, demonstrated on orbit, aiming to reduce costs and barriers for satellite development, especially for educational purposes.

Contribution

It introduces a fully open-source, deployable solar panel design tailored for CubeSats, with demonstrated on-orbit performance and accessible assembly procedures.

Findings

Successful on-orbit demonstration on three satellites

Open-source design files and procedures published online

Cost-effective alternative to commercial solar panels

Abstract

Cube satellites, or CubeSats, are small satellites commonly used to perform Earth imaging and on-orbit scientific experiments. CubeSats are often powered using expensive, inflexible commercial-off-the-shelf solar panels, largely due to a lack of flight-qualified open-source alternatives. Here, we describe the design of customizable, deployable solar panels, offering an open-source, cost-effective alternative. Towards a fully open-source CubeSat, our designs have mission-tailored power generation capabilities and simple electrical and mechanical integration. The solar panel designs were demonstrated on-orbit on three satellites in the Northern SPIRIT constellation and will be on AlbertaSat's Ex-Alta~3 satellite, which will launch in 2025. The design files, assembly procedures, and best practices will be open-source-published online. This work lowers the barrier of entry into space, making satellite design easier and less expensive -- students helping students design better satellites.