3D Printing a Robust Cubesat for Space-Bound Dev Boards

3D Printing & Imaging Other Boards Raspberry Pi Science

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A few months ago I attended the Small Satellite Conference at Utah State University. This annual gathering has been a mainstay of the small satellite community for almost thirty years. During the pre-conference workshop on cubesats Craig Kief, one of the directors of the COSMIAC research centre at the University of New Mexico, talked about how the Maker Movement and the open hardware we have built was making its way into the traditionally hidebound aerospace industry.

After his talk I sat down with Craig Kief and Brian Zufelt, also from COSMIAC, to talk about their plans not just to fly commercial off-the-shelf boards like the Raspberry Pi into orbit, but to 3D print the satellite that’s going to take it there.

While the research centre is initially looking to launch boards like the Raspberry Pi and the Beaglebone Black into orbit nestled inside a 3D printed tray, they’re also investigating the possibility of 3D printing the entire satellite, including the circuitry.

Payload Tested at COSMIAC for viability of 3D Printed Circuits. (Credit: COSMIAC)
Payload test at COSMIAC for viability of 3D printed circuits. (Credit: COSMIAC)

If you can 3D print the entire satellite as a solid cube, then without the spaces and air gaps inherent in the normal method of building a satellite it will be able to withstand much higher accelerations during launch. However if you can 3D print a satellite it might also be possible to put them together in orbit, and a satellite launch might just consist of a single email.

If you want to get a feel for how a cubesat looks and feels you can 3D print your own cubesat frame, although unless you have access to a really good SLA printer you might want to consider buying a metal frame off the shelf if you’re thinking about heading to orbit with your build.

2 thoughts on “3D Printing a Robust Cubesat for Space-Bound Dev Boards

  1. WinstonSmith2012 says:

    I’m wondering if their name, COSMIAC, is meant as a hat tip to the now ancient technology, space rated COSMAC 1802.

  2. Craig says:

    Afraid the name is not a hat tip. We just liked the way it rolled of the tongue. Stood originally for the Configurable Space Microsystems Innovations and Applications Center when we rebranded back about five years ago. Craig

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Alasdair Allan is a scientist, author, hacker and tinkerer, who is spending a lot of his time thinking about the Internet of Things. In the past he has mesh networked the Moscone Center, caused a U.S. Senate hearing, and contributed to the detection of what was—at the time—the most distant object yet discovered.

View more articles by Alasdair Allan

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