2.4. Development of a laboratory satellite
The demonstrator satellites acquired in previous years are good for conducting laboratory practices in the subject,
but do not provide adequate flexibility for students to engage in new hardware and software developments.
Therefore, the development of a self-designed demonstrator satellite was started through Final Theses.Five students have been involved in this activity carrying out their theses: two in the Electric Power System design,two in the Attitude Control System design, and one in the Mechanical design and overall integration. The development is currently in its final stage and it is foreseen that it will be ready for the first semester of 2015/16. Having an in house development will also allow
to have more units and to significantly reduce costs.
2.5. QB50 project
QB50 is a project funded by the 7th Framework Program to launch and operate an international network
of 50 CubeSats. Their mission is dedicated to the acquisition of multi-point in-situ measurements of key components of the thermosphere and lower ionosphere, and to the research of the re-entry into the atmosphere. It will be the first big network of CubeSats on orbit, a concept that has attracted much interest in recent years, but so far no university, institution or space agency had taken the initiative to create and coordinate. A team of UPM professors submitted a proposal to the QB50 project, which was selected and has been carried out during the 2012–15 timeframe. The overall objectives of the proposal are the design, development, construction, launch and operation of one of the two-unit CubeSats of the network, which will carry an atmospheric sensors kit provided by the consortium. A secondary objective of the mission is the in-orbit demonstration of a new attitude control system (Experimental Software, ESW) developed by the UPM team, and two other payloads developed in collaboration with the University of Liege and with Near Infrared
Technologies (NIT), respectively: a Phase Changing Material (PCM) and a Medium Wave Infrared Detector (MWIRD).
The project has a high educational, scientific and technological value for universities. It will allow UPM to be part of an international group of more than 90 universities worldwide working and sharing knowledge for a successful
mission. In addition to the universities developing and operating the satellites, other universities are participating
in the creation of a ground stations network to support the operations of the satellite constellation and maximize
the amount of scientific data downlinked.The 7th Framework Programme funds 75% of the launch cost, as well as the development and manufacture of the scientific sensors and the procurement of a few Attitude Determination and Control Units. The remaining 25% of the launch cost, and the design, manufacture and operation cost of the CubeSats and ground stations of the network must be funded by the project participants. The UPM satellite is called QBito. The project is being
designed and manufactured by final-year students of the degree, led by lecturers and E-USOC staff. It has been very
challenging to be able to develop such a project with a high participation of students, since attending other courses was
not always compatible with the project schedule and its fixed milestones. Only their very high motivation and commitment with the project made it possible. The full design of several subsystems was done with the involvement of
students, namely: the electric power system (three students), the structure (two students), the thermal control
system (two students), the ESW (two students), the communications system (one student), the harnesses (one student), the ground software (two students) and the on-board software (two students). All these students have been working in the project as their Final Thesis. Some students were able to participate in the initial phase of the project, more focused on the design; others in the procurement, manufacturing and validation phase, having direct interaction with the industries where the tests are being performed (i.e. SENER and AIRBUS DS); and others have been able to participate in all the phases. The participation in international projects allows the internationalization of teaching, promotes students’ interest and increases their motivation.