CubeSat Prototype
CubeSat Prototype from Annalisa Vilaysing
CubeSat Prototype

The Spring 2019 project for TritonCubed involved redesigning the electronics payload from the Winter 2018 project to conform to the CubeSat standard. This required designing custom printed circuit boards (PCBs); however, to design them, the Electronics Team needed the sensors and electrical components to draw the connections. These sensors and electrical components were not readily available, so the Mechanical Team was tasked to create all the necessary parts.

Most of the breakout boards did not have design files. Therefore, many of the models are not 100% accurate and are approximated based on parts that did have dimensions.

TritonCubed is a pre-professional student organization located at UCSD. The organization is focused on providing students with the opportunity to apply their engineering skills in the field of space through inexpensive near-space and low-Earth orbit activities, including the development of high-altitude balloon payloads and CubeSats.

Temperature Sensor Probe - the waterproof DS18B20 digital temperature sensor from Adafruit. Multiple tools were learned from this animation alone: Path Mate (advanced), animating with the path mate, creating a part within the assembly, and simulating movement by following another part.
GPS Pico Breakout with Chip Antenna - the uBLOX MAX-M8C pico breakout board from Uputronics. Custom decals were drawn to place on the model. This model is approximated based on the known dimensions of the MAX-M8C GPS chip.
Ozone Gas Sensor Module - the MQ-131 breakout board from SainSmart. A small circular mesh texture was used for the ozone sensor itself. This model is approximated based on known dimensions of the MQ-131 ozone sensor, potentiometer, and comparator chip.
Pressure Sensor Breakout Board - the MS5803-14BA breakout board from SparkFun. This model is accurate to the physical product since EagleCAD files were provided by the manufacturer.
Wireless LoRa Module - the SX1276 LoRa module from Modtronix. This model is mostly accurate to the physical product since some general dimensions were provided by the manufacturer. The most critical component, the pins, are accurate with high confidence.
Geiger Counter - the SBM-20 (???-20) Geiger-Mueller tube produced by the USSR during the Cold War. This model is accurate to the physical product since all necessary dimensions were given in a Russian datasheet.
9 Degree-of-Freedom IMU Breakout Board - the LSM9Ds1 breakout board from SparkFun. This model is accurate to the physical product since EagleCAD files were provided by the manufacturer.
Charge Management Controller - the MCP73811 charge management controller from Microchip. The model is accurate to the physical product since dimensions were given in the datasheet provided by the manufacturer.
3V Supervisor - the STM708SM6F watchdog timer from STMicroelectronics. This model is accurate to the physical product since dimensions were given in the datasheet provided by the manufacturer.
XH Connector - the B4B-XH-A connector from JST Group. This model is accurate to the physical product since dimensions were given in the datasheet provided by the manufacturer.
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CubeSat Prototype

The Spring 2019 project for TritonCubed involved redesigning the electronics payload from the Winter 2018 project to conform to the CubeSat standard. This required designing custom printed circuit boards (PCBs); however, to design them, the Electronics Team needed the sensors and electrical components to draw the connections. These sensors and electrical components were not readily available, so the Mechanical Team was tasked to create all the necessary parts.

Most of the breakout boards did not have design files. Therefore, many of the models are not 100% accurate and are approximated based on parts that did have dimensions.

TritonCubed is a pre-professional student organization located at UCSD. The organization is focused on providing students with the opportunity to apply their engineering skills in the field of space through inexpensive near-space and low-Earth orbit activities, including the development of high-altitude balloon payloads and CubeSats.

Annalisa Vilaysing
Quality Engineer at Rock West Composites San Diego, CA