• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-103
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• 2022

In this paper, the contents of the design and development process of the 6U micro-satellite Snipe (SNIPE, national name Toyosat; small scale magnetospheric and Ionospheric plasma experiment ), which was developed to observe the near-global space environment through polarization flight for the first time in Korea, were described. Snipe performs transversal flight to observe the Earth's surrounding space environment in three dimensions, and aims to simultaneously observe the space plasma density and temperature in the ionosphere, as well as temporal changes in the solar magnetic field and electromagnetic waves. In this way, it was developed by dividing it into a test certification model (EQM) and a flight model (FM) to perform the actual mission for at least six months, away from developing a cube satellite for short-term space technology verification or manpower training. Currently, Snipe, which has completed the development of a total of four FM and completed all space environment tests, is scheduled to launch 2023. In this paper, we introduce the design contents and development process of the Snipe satellite body ahead of launch, and hope that it will be a useful reference for the development of 6U-class micro-satellite for full-scale mission in Korea.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.319-336
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• 2021

This paper discusses the results of launch environment tests for the engineering qualification model (EQM) of nanosatellite Scale magNetospheric and Ionospheric Plasma Experiment (SNIPE) for scientific missions and lessons learned for the design of nanosatellites. SNIPE is a group of four formation-flying 6U nanosatellites with a range of payloads for missions including space weather measurement. We developed the EQM to verify the preliminary design prior to fabricating the flight model. Launch environment test of EQM was conducted for the first time in 2019, and all failures were corrected and verified at the second test conducted in 2021. A notable point of the two tests is that the nanosatellite deployer used in the first test is different from that of the second test. The second deployer has the capability to fix the internal satellite whereas the first deployer just contains and deploys the satellite. Thus actual mechanical loads the satellite receives is reduced for the second test compared to the first test. This work compares the mechanical responses of two tests and proposes general guidelines for structural design of nanosatellites.