CubeSail
CubeSail is a proposed nanosatellite project by the Surrey Space Centre in England. The spacecraft is to be a 3U CubeSat propelled by a 25 m²solar sail. The project is financed and technically supported by aerospace manufacturers Astrium and Surrey Satellite Technology. It is designed for operation in low Earth orbit, serving as an atmospheric drag brake to facilitate the removal of satellite debris.
The first successful solar sail spacecraft was the Japanese IKAROS mission, launched on 21 May 2010.
Overview
The project is further developing technologies first tested on their STRaND-1 CubeSat, launched in February 2013. CubeSail will deploy a 25 m2 solar sail, which will be used to demonstrate the propulsive effect of solar radiation pressure and the de-orbiting capabilities of the sail as a drag augmentation device.Attitude control
CubeSail will be a three-axis stabilised solar sail satellite. Attitude control is necessary because the orientation of the sail relative to the Sun direction will determine the propulsion force. Full three-axis attitude control will be performed by means of a centre of mass/centre of pressure offset technique, complemented by three magnetorquers and a reaction wheel. Attitude control can be enhanced by using the solar radiation pressure force on the sail to generate rotation torques. The radiation pressure can also be used to induce a change of altitude as well as orbital inclination.The spacecraft will be deployed in a low Earth orbit on a Sun-synchronous orbit.