Projects · Spaceflight

UKPIK-1 CubeSat structure

Jun 2023launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 (CRS-28)

ISSdeployed from the International Space Station

4agencies' specs met: NASA, CSA, SpaceX, Nanoracks

Annotated CAD render of the CubeSat structure labeling cover plates, camera plate, mounting plate, and outer rails

Who

Mechanical engineering capstone at Western University, in partnership with Nunavut Arctic College, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency. I owned the satellite's structure: the load path that carries every subsystem through launch.

What

A student-built satellite that made it to space. UKPIK-1 launched in June 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, deployed from the International Space Station, and operates in orbit today with its immersive-VR camera payload.

How

A 10 cm, 1 kg structure engineered to satisfy four organizations at once: NASA, CSA, SpaceX, and Nanoracks. FEA of the launch environment verified against hand calculations, iteration for vibration and resonance, rework for manufacturing and assembly, and a prototype machined to specification.

Footage

Finite element analysis stress and displacement plots of the CubeSat rail structure — FEA of the rail structure, verified against hand calculations.

Gloved hands assembling the CubeSat structure — Structure assembly.

CubeSat structure mounted to a vibration test fixture plate — Vibration test fixture.

Still from the ISS deployment stream showing Ukpik-1 deploying with Earth below — Deployment from the ISS. Image credit: NASA/Nanoracks deployment stream.

Links and press

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