Small Satellite Development at UTEP

The small satellite industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years. A CubeSat is a particular type of standardized small satellite that follows the CubeSat specifications. These specifications define the structural, testing, and operational requirements of the satellite. This standard facilitates cheaper design, integration, and launch of satellites, allowing smaller organizations to participate in the normally costly area of space exploration. The University of Texas at El Paso has recognized the opportunity and has begun developing several CubeSats. The two that are the topic of this Thesis are called Orbital Factory II (OFII) and Orbital Factory X (OFX). An on-orbit thermal analysis of OFII was completed in order to assure that the off-the-shelf modules would survive the mission. OFX will have on-orbit propulsion provided by four 1 N monopropellant thrusters. A custom propellant tank was designed to maximize the volume of propellant. Finite element analysis of the tank was completed in order to ensure that the tank will be able to handle the loads from the pressurized propellant