3D Printing and MEMS Propulsion for the RAMPART 2U CUBESAT

A volunteer consortium of the individuals and organizations listed on the title page of this document is using rapid prototyping and MEMS technologies to design and build a 2U RAMPART CUBESAT (RApidprototypedMemsPropulsionAndRadiationTest CUBEflowSATellite). f being manifested on a Falcon 1e launch. The flight of this satellite is intended to certify warm gas propulsion subsystems and magnetic stabilization for Cubesat orbital altitude adjustment, as well as rapid prototyping methods of building one-piece satellite structures, propellant tanks, printed circuit board cages, erectable solar panels, antenna deployment mechanisms, etc. at a fraction of the cost of current methods. Design revisions are being accommodated with a minimum of effort, time and expense. New laser-sintered materials with improved mechanical and thermal properties are being adapted for space use from the Formula 1 Racing field. Polymer sealants and metal platings have been utilized on surfaces inside and outside the satellite to eliminate outgassing and to aid in thermal management. This paper describes the use of these techniques to design-print-fly a 2U Cubesat that will raise its own apogee altitude to 1200 km, just below the equatorial inner Van Allen Radiation Belt, following deployment from its launch vehicle into an initial 450km circular orbit with an inclination of 45 deg. The satellite will measure incident energetic particle flux, together with the performance of new, improved radiation-hardened Cubeflow components and circuits and high-performance solar cells and cover glasses in that enhanced radiation environment, and telemeter those measurements to a redundant international ground station network