The CAST (Cubesat Advanced Simulator and Test bench) project aims at building the infrastructure needed for supporting the design and AIV activities of cubesats throughout their life-cycle. CAST includes the development of test-benches of satellite’s subsystems as well as a multi-purpose simulator with Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) capabilities.

CAST is composed of four main elements:

Sun Simulator System, whose purpose is to test radiation dependent equipment at different illumination condition
Frictionless Table System, which simulates three degrees of freedom maneuvers
Main Board System, which interfaces with other ground support equipment, such as the Sun Simulator and the Frictionless Table, managing and transferring data
Control Centre, a user interface aimed at controlling and monitoring the entire system

The main objectives are:

To support satellite simulation during different phases of the design process
To reduce time and costs of verification phase
Adapting to several missions

Project Details

Sun Simulator

This subsystem aims to reproduce the effect of solar radiation on the spacecraft, simulating the energy produced by solar panels and thermal loads expected.

Frictionless Table

This subsystem aims to replicate a frictionless environment in order to simulate maneuvers with three degree of freedom (DOF), two translational and one rotational, such as proximity operations and docking.

Main Board

This subsystem purpose is to manage data and electrical interfaces between Ground Support Equipment (GSE), the object of simulation and verification (Test Object) and Control center.

Control Center

Aimed at managing and controlling CAST during the entire verification process; a Managing Computer simulates the system and manages the GSE (Ground Support Equipment) and a User Interface monitors the verification.