A New Type of CubeSat Structure Utilizing the Superplastic Forming Process

CubeSats are kind of small satellites that follow specific standards, and because of that, they are less costly to develop and launch compared to conventional satellites. The careful design of a CubeSat’s structure allows for weight savings and increases the chances of a successful mission. In addition to being light in weight, the CubeSat structure must provide enough stiffness and strength to support the other subsystems. Superplastic forming (SPF) is a manufacturing process used to produce complex and lightweight components. It is known to significantly save manufacturing cost and time in certain niche applications. Up to our knowledge, this process has never been implemented in the CubeSat industry. This study considers the use of the superplastic forming process to produce a CubeSat enclosure that consists of six SPF panels. The Aluminum alloy AA5083 was used in the study, as it already has applications in the space industry. Several finite element simulations were carried out to ensure that the proposed structure passes the requirements of the CubeSat design specifications. At first, the SPF process was simulated to make sure that the panels’ thickness profiles meet the industry requirements and that no excessive thinning is observed. The generated panels were integrated in a 1U CubeSat and then subjected to both quasi-static and modal analyses. The results show that the proposed structure has a mass that is 226g less than that of a certain commercially available off-the-shelf CubeSat structure. This is considered significant when compared with the typical mass of a complete 1U CubeSat, which is 2.0 kg. The results also demonstrate that the proposed structure satisfies all the CubeSat dimensional, stiffness, and strength requirements.