The Small Satellite (CubeSat) Program as a Pedagogical Framework for the Undergraduate EE Curriculum

W. Timothy Holman; Brian David Sierawski; Robert Reed; Robert A. Weller; Andrew L. Sternberg; Rebekah Austin; Daniel M. Fleetwood

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: ECE Program Development
Tagged Division: Electrical and Computer
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 24.1245.1 - 24.1245.12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--23178
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/23178
Download Count: 707

Paper Authors

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W. Timothy Holman Vanderbilt University

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Tim Holman received the B.S.E.E from the University of Tennessee and the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D.E.E. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, and has held the position of Research Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University since 2000. He specializes in the areas of low noise / low power analog, mixed-signal, and digital integrated circuit design, with a focus on radiation effects and radiation-hardening-by-design techniques for high-performance analog and mixed-signal circuits.

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Brian David Sierawski Vanderbilt University

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Brian Sierawski received his B.S.E in Computer Engineering in 2002 and M.S.E in Computer Science and Engineering in 2004 from the University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2011 from Vanderbilt University. He has worked as a Research Engineer at the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics since 2005 and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University.

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Robert Reed Vanderbilt University

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Robert Reed is an expert on radiation effects in electronics. Robert has many years of experience in a variety of settings in spacecraft design and survivability and reliability. He has led programs in experimentation, modeling, and simulation of radiation effects in electronic systems. He has been involved with six separate space-based radiation effects experiments over the last 20 years: 1) RadFx-1,-2,-3: A series of CubeSat Based Radiation Effects Testbeds (PI), 2) Microelectronic and Photonics Test Bed (Instrument Card PI), and 3) Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (Investigator), 4) Living With a Star – Space Environment Testbed (mission definition and requirements). As a NASA civil servant, Robert was the lead radiation effects systems engineer for several NASA spaceflight projects, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. He participated in development of MIL-STD-883, Test Method 1019 (Ionizing radiation (total dose) test procedure), development of the CRÈME-MC code that is commonly used by the satellite community, and other test guidelines used by DoD and NASA. He is very active in the radiation effects community, having served as General and Technical Chair of the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference and as a voting member of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Advisory Committee. He has own numerous awards for his work on spacecraft survivability and reliabilty: Three Outstanding Paper Awards at NSREC, IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Early Achievement Award, Clemson University Outstanding Young Alumni Award, NASA Best of the Best Achievement Awards. Robert is a fellow of the IEEE.

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Robert A. Weller Vanderbilt University

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Andrew L. Sternberg Vanderbilt University

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Andrew Sternberg received a B.S. degree in Engineering Science from
David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN in 1999. He received the
M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN in 2003, and the Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in
2006. He joined the Vanderbilt University Institute for Space and Defense
Electronics in March 2006.

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Rebekah Austin Vanderbilt University

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Rebekah Austin is graduate student in Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Her research is in radiation effects on electronics and on how Vanderbilt's CubeSat program can be used in the undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum.

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Daniel M. Fleetwood Vanderbilt University

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Dan Fleetwood received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in 1980, 1981, and 1984. He joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1984 as a Member of the Technical Staff. In 1990, he was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the Radiation Technology and Assurance Department at Sandia. Dan accepted a position as Professor of Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University in 1999, and also holds a secondary appointment as Professor of Physics. In 2001-2003 he served as Associate Dean for Research in the School of Engineering. In 2003 he was named Chairman of Vanderbilt’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, and in 2009 he was named Olin H. Landreth Chair in Engineering. Dan is author or co-author of more than 400 publications on radiation effects and low frequency noise, which have been cited more than 8800 times. He received the 2009 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Merit Award. Dan is a member of ASEE and a Fellow of the IEEE and the American Physical Society.

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Abstract

Using the Small Satellite (CubeSat) Program to Introduce New Concepts Into the Undergraduate EE CurriculumThe small satellite (CubeSat) concept provides a means for university students to becomedirectly involved in the design and launch of space systems. In this paper we illustrate how oursmall satellite research program is being used to introduce new concepts to undergraduateelectrical engineering (EE) courses.The CubeSat program provides a particularly compelling framework for introducing newhardware and software concepts into undergraduate laboratories and introductory engineeringcourses. Space systems, by their very nature, incorporate subsystems for RF communications,power regulation and management, environmental control, digital signal processing,microprocessor control, A/D and D/A conversion, and remote sensing into a single package.Consequently, CubeSats are an excellent means of capturing students’ imaginations whilefamiliarizing them with the fundamental techniques behind these subsystems.In our introductory engineering course, Arduino boards and peripherals (with form factors thatare well-suited to the volume / area constraints inherent in small satellite design) are used tointroduce freshmen engineers to space system concepts using experiments and student projecsinvolving sensors, remote actuators, and wireless communications. The modular nature of thehardware and software used in these experiments allows students with no background inhardware or software to participate in a student design team, and to achieve relatively high-leveldesign goals that would not have been possible just a decade ago.In our undergraduate laboratories, the CubeSat program provides a tutorial framework to givestudents an introduction to circuits (and circuit concepts) that would not normally be explored atthe sophomore or first-semester junior level. For example: (1) CubeSat RF communication systems provide a basis for experiments in oscillators, modulation techniques, and AM transmitters and receivers. (2) Satellite power management systems provide a basis for experiments in high-current output buffers, voltage regulators, and power supply design. (3) Satellite sensors and data acquisition systems provide a framework for investigations into data transmission via infrared diodes, and the design of simple analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters using op amps and MOS transistors. (4) Environmental control systems provide an introduction to comparators, hysteresis (positive feedback), temperature sensors, and multivibrator circuits.This paper will provide further details and examples of how the CubeSat research program isbeing used to restructure our undergraduate courses, and our plans for introducing actualCubeSat hardware into these courses as we refine and extend our small satellite pedagogy.

Citation
Format

Holman, W. T., & Sierawski, B. D., & Reed, R., & Weller, R. A., & Sternberg, A. L., & Austin, R., & Fleetwood, D. M. (2014, June), The Small Satellite (CubeSat) Program as a Pedagogical Framework for the Undergraduate EE Curriculum Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--23178

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -              Using the Small Satellite (CubeSat) Program to Introduce              New Concepts Into the Undergraduate EE CurriculumThe small satellite (CubeSat) concept provides a means for university students to becomedirectly involved in the design and launch of space systems. In this paper we illustrate how oursmall satellite research program is being used to introduce new concepts to undergraduateelectrical engineering (EE) courses.The CubeSat program provides a particularly compelling framework for introducing newhardware and software concepts into undergraduate laboratories and introductory engineeringcourses. Space systems, by their very nature, incorporate subsystems for RF communications,power regulation and management, environmental control, digital signal processing,microprocessor control, A/D and D/A conversion, and remote sensing into a single package.Consequently, CubeSats are an excellent means of capturing students’ imaginations whilefamiliarizing them with the fundamental techniques behind these subsystems.In our introductory engineering course, Arduino boards and peripherals (with form factors thatare well-suited to the volume / area constraints inherent in small satellite design) are used tointroduce freshmen engineers to space system concepts using experiments and student projecsinvolving sensors, remote actuators, and wireless communications. The modular nature of thehardware and software used in these experiments allows students with no background inhardware or software to participate in a student design team, and to achieve relatively high-leveldesign goals that would not have been possible just a decade ago.In our undergraduate laboratories, the CubeSat program provides a tutorial framework to givestudents an introduction to circuits (and circuit concepts) that would not normally be explored atthe sophomore or first-semester junior level. For example:   (1) CubeSat RF communication systems provide a basis for experiments in oscillators,       modulation techniques, and AM transmitters and receivers.   (2) Satellite power management systems provide a basis for experiments in high-current       output buffers, voltage regulators, and power supply design.   (3) Satellite sensors and data acquisition systems provide a framework for investigations into       data transmission via infrared diodes, and the design of simple analog-to-digital (A/D)       and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters using op amps and MOS transistors.   (4) Environmental control systems provide an introduction to comparators, hysteresis       (positive feedback), temperature sensors, and multivibrator circuits.This paper will provide further details and examples of how the CubeSat research program isbeing used to restructure our undergraduate courses, and our plans for introducing actualCubeSat hardware into these courses as we refine and extend our small satellite pedagogy.
AU  - W. Timothy Holman
AU  - Brian David Sierawski
AU  - Robert Reed
AU  - Robert A. Weller
AU  - Andrew L. Sternberg
AU  - Rebekah Austin
AU  - Daniel M. Fleetwood
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - The Small Satellite (CubeSat) Program as a Pedagogical Framework for the Undergraduate EE Curriculum
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/23178
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--23178
ER  -