Orbit Design and Lifetime Analysis of MYSat: A 1U CubeSat for Electron-density Measurement

Abstract

The paper describes the orbit design and lifetime analysis of MYSat, a university-built nanosatellite for measuring electron-density in the Ionosphere E-layer. Low earth orbit is selected for MYSat orbit due to the deployment method using Japanese Experiment Module Small Satellite Orbital Deployer at International Space Station. The analysis is done using Analytical Graphics, Inc.’s System Tool Kit to obtain MYSat classical orbital elements and orbital lifetime. Comparative study has been conducted on different propagators and atmospheric model to predict MYSat’s possible orbital decay time for preliminary subsystem design of MYSat. The orbit for MYSat is a near-circular orbit with an average altitude of 404 km. Thus, the lifetime of MYSat is expected about 1.4 ~ 1.9 years. However, in a real condition the expected lifetime will be different due to the accuracy of the mathematical model and the environment data. Nevertheless, the satellite preliminary subsystem design and ground operations can be arranged using the estimation.