Quad-Mag board for CubeSat applications

B. P. Strabel; L. H. Regoli; L. H. Regoli; M. B. Moldwin; L. V. Ojeda; Y. Shi; J. D. Thoma; J. D. Thoma; I. S. Narrett; I. S. Narrett; B. Bronner; M. Pellioni; M. Pellioni

doi:10.5194/gi-11-375-2022

Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems (Nov 2022)

Quad-Mag board for CubeSat applications

B. P. Strabel,
L. H. Regoli,
L. H. Regoli,
M. B. Moldwin,
L. V. Ojeda,
Y. Shi,
J. D. Thoma,
J. D. Thoma,
I. S. Narrett,
I. S. Narrett,
B. Bronner,
M. Pellioni,
M. Pellioni

Affiliations

B. P. Strabel: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
L. H. Regoli: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
L. H. Regoli: Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA
M. B. Moldwin: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
L. V. Ojeda: Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Y. Shi: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
J. D. Thoma: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
J. D. Thoma: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
I. S. Narrett: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
I. S. Narrett: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
B. Bronner: Made In Space Incorporated, Moffett Field, CA, USA
M. Pellioni: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
M. Pellioni: General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, MI, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-375-2022
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11
pp. 375 – 388

Abstract

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The design, characteristics, and performance of a CubeSat magnetometer board (Quad-Mag) equipped with four PNI RM3100 magnetometers is presented. The low size, weight, power, and cost of the RM3100 enables the inclusion of four sensors on a single board, allowing a potential factor of 2 reduction in the noise floor established for an individual sensor via oversampling with multiple sensors. The instrument experimentally achieved a noise floor of 5.34 nT (individual axis), averaging across each axis of the four magnetometers, at a 65 Hz sampling rate. This approaches the theoretically established limit for the system of 4.37 nT at 40 Hz. A single onboard Texas Instrument MSP430 microcontroller handles synchronization of the magnetometers and facilitates data collection through a simple UART-based command interface to a host system. The Quad-Mag system has a mass of 59.05 g and total power consumption of 23 mW while sampling and 14 mW while idle. The Quad-Mag enables nearly 1 nT magnetic field measurements at 1 Hz using commercial off-the-shelf sensors for space applications under optimal conditions.

Published in Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems

ISSN: 2193-0856 (Print); 2193-0864 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Science: Physics: Geophysics. Cosmic physics
Website: http://www.geoscientific-instrumentation-methods-and-data-systems.net

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