Test bench for Nanosatellite Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS)devices : Design and manufacture of a Merritt Cage

Abstract: Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) is often a complex system on-board any  satellite  which  needs  validation  and  testing  to  prove  its  operability  and  verify  its software  compatibility  with  hardware  and  other  subsystems.    One  failure  in  orbit  is extremely expensive in terms of cost and time due to payload preparation and launch. The ideal test bench would be the one that perfectly simulates the space environment and all its main factors such as weightlessness, Earth’s Magnetic Field (EMF), vacuum, neutral particles, plasma and radiation, among others.  The target in this case was the Earth’s Magnetic Field (EMF), solved with a Helmholtz Cage in a Merritt Configuration, and weightlessness, not implemented but analysed in detail where different alternatives are proposed, similar to market solutions.As  derived  from  literature  and  simulations  executed  along  this  M.  Sc.    Thesis,  the Merritt Cage seems beneficial against any other configuration in terms of magnetic field uniformity and effective volume.  After the design and assembly of the test bench, both properties were verified and successfully achieved, despite the lack of calibration, not executed because of time limitation, and tiny issues encountered along the full evolutionof the project.