Design, Analysis, Implementation, and Testing of the Thermal Control, and Attitude Determination and Control Systems for the CanX-7 Nanosatellite Mission

In the context of space debris mitigation, a major challenge currently facing the space community is the removal of nano and microsatellites from orbit following the completion of their missions. To address this problem, the Space Flight Laboratory has developed the CanX-7 mission; a technology demonstration mission to validate the use of a mechanically deployed drag sail for de-orbiting satellites from low-Earth orbit. This thesis report describes the design, analysis, implementation, and testing of both the attitude determination and control system, and thermal control system for the CanX-7 mission. The attitude determination and control system uses an entirely magnetic solution to meet mission level pointing requirements with a limited set of hardware, and the thermal control system relies primarily on passive control measures to allow the spacecraft to survive the harsh thermal environment in space. Both subsystems are essential to the success of the CanX-7 mission.M.A.S