• actuators
• deployment system
• outgassing
• satellite platform
• small satellite
• solar cells
• solar panels
• thermal analysis
• vibroacoustic analysis

The work presented in this thesis is the preliminary design of a small satellite platform for the University of Pisa, in collaboration with the italian space company Sitael S.p.A. The requirement of this project is to create a platform with a high value of ratio between the power produced by the solar array and the total mass of the satellite. The minimum value of power that the solar system shall generate is 200 W, keeping a total mass of the platform under 50 kg. An additional target for the thesis is to evaluate the possibility of merging typical Cube Sats technology, in particular Commercial Off-The-Shelf devices, in larger and complex systems, such as deployable solar panel.In the firsts sections of the thesis, several possible platform configurations have been analysed, to select the optimal architecture for the solar array. Once the overall design of the platform has been selected, a more detailed analysis of the Solar Power Generation System is performed, considering all the different features that characterize this system.
Another critical aspect that has been analysed during the development of this
thesis is the mechanism for the solar panel deployment; in the last part of the paper, the aspects inherent to the structural requirements, the choice of material, and the evaluation of the space compatibility have been performed.