An integrated micro HTS system for energy storage and attitude control for three-axis stabilized nanosatellites

Abstract

This paper presents the development of an integrated micro high-temperature superconductor system for energy storage and attitude control of three-axis stabilized nano satellites. The micro HTS system consists of a flywheel/rotor, motor/generator, motor electronics, and a cooling system. The flywheel/rotor has been fabricated by using sintered NdFeB and the stator for motor/generator has been fabricated by micro fabrication technology. An alternative stator has been fabricated by cutting a 50 micron-thick copper film for comparison. A servo amplifier to drive the DC brushless motor of the integrated HTS system has been developed and successfully tested. A cooling system has been developed to test the system. It has been observed that the micro fabricated stator can make the flywheel rotate at a constant velocity of up to 12,000 rpm whereas the other stator generates a constant velocity of up to 2,500 rpm. Experiments show that the micro fabricated stator can significantly reduce the motor/generator losses.