Publications

A Spacecraft-Compatible Combined Artificial Gravity and Exercise (CAGE) System to Sustain Astronaut Health in the Next Generation of Long-Term Spaceflight

Journal of Space Safety Engineering · Oct 22, 2022

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468896722001112

Co-authored with: Donya Naz Divsalar, Farshid Sadeghian, Kevin Burville, Malcom F. Tremblay, John Thomas, Steven Richter, and Andrew P. Blaber

Human spaceflight exposes astronauts to prolonged periods of microgravity and high doses of radiation, leading to life-threatening cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neurological damage. One of the most dangerous effects of microgravity is the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the intracranial space. The cephalad-fluid shift and muscular atrophy triggered and worsened by microgravity, largely contribute to physiological deconditioning, making medical care for astronauts challenging in many cases. Artificial Gravity (AG) produced by centrifugation may provide an efficient countermeasure against spaceflight physiological deconditioning. The acceleration forces in a centrifuge follow an increasing pattern in the general direction of the upper to lower body, resulting in the creation of AG. Centrifuge-produced AG results in a downward shift of fluid toward the lower body. This downward motion restores fluid balance in the body, lowering the pressure inside the intracranial space and the upper body. Our team at Simon Fraser University's Aerospace Physiology Laboratory has proposed a design for a Combined Artificial Gravity and Exercise (CAGE) device, that would be compatible with the next generation of commercial spacecraft and space stations, as well as Lunar bases.

Low-cost Manufacturing and Testing of Attitude Control Systems for CubeSats

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) · Sep 18, 2022

Co-authored with: Charles Lee, Caleb Gimpel, Alessandro Hardjoho, Donya Naz Divsalar, Michael Godinho, and Steven Richter

CubeSats have become one of the most popular pieces of technology used by universities and companies to get a foothold in space technology, and the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) is one of the most important and challenging sub-systems for development. ADCS manufacturing and testing is both complicated and expensive; this system can be a limiting factor in mission design due to the pointing requirements required for many applications. Proper testing and calibration of the ADCS requires significant development of ground support equipment which itself can be costly. The student design teams SFU Sat and UBC Orbit have developed innovative low-cost techniques for manufacturing and testing these systems for the ALEASAT project: a 1U Earth-imaging CubeSat with strict pointing requirements and a small budget. The approaches developed for this project can help enable other groups around the world to implement their own low-cost ADCS projects to unlock new mission architectures for any group. This paper presents the requirements, design, simulation, and manufacturing of a Helmholtz cage, magnetorquers, reaction wheels, and testing techniques for each component - including the use of a portable clean box for safely testing flight hardware. To ensure that the equipment is ready for launch, a portable Helmholtz cage is used to test and calibrate the magnetorquers. Reaction wheels also require detailed testing and calibration; different techniques and test setups are shared for the testing of both actuators together.

An Operational Scale Model Short-Arm Human Centrifuge as a CubeSat Payload

Aerospace Medical Association · May 31, 2022

Co-authored with: Donya Naz Divsalar, John Thomas, and Caleb Gimpel

This paper details our CubeSat payload that uses a custom-designed reaction wheel to simulate a short-arm human centrifuge in space. The data gathered from this payload will be used to iterate the design of a short-arm human centrifuge being designed by our team at Simon Fraser University.Co-authored with Donya Naz Divsalar, John Thomas, and Caleb Gimpel This paper details our CubeSat payload that uses a custom-designed reaction wheel to simulate a short-arm human centrifuge in space. The data gathered from this payload will be used to iterate the design of a short-arm human centrifuge being designed by our team at Simon Fraser University.

A Communications Relay CubeSat Mission for Mars Solar Conjunction

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) · Oct 25, 2021

Link: https://dl.iafastro.directory/event/IAC-2021/paper/65815/

Co-authored with: Dylan Slocki, Steven Richter, Donya Naz Divsalar, and Michael Godinho

This paper continues the development of the MarsSat concept published by Thomas Gangale in 2005 with the intention of solving this issue. In his paper, Gangale details a satellite or network of satellites near Mars in a heliocentric orbit to ensure constant communication even during conjunction. Due to the high costs of Mars missions, communications networks are often neglected and this mission has not yet been implemented in the 16 years since it was published. Small satellite technology has come a long way in the past 16 years and the MARCO mission has proven the capability to communicate from Mars at the 6U CubeSat scale which drastically decreases the costs of such a mission. We will be further analyzing the concept and planning details for executing the mission using a CubeSat.Co-authored with: Dylan Slocki, Steven Richter, Donya Naz Divsalar, and Michael Godinho This paper continues the development of the MarsSat concept published by Thomas Gangale in 2005 with the intention of solving this issue. In his paper, Gangale details a satellite or network of satellites near Mars in a heliocentric orbit to ensure constant communication even during conjunction. Due to the high costs of Mars missions, communications networks are often neglected and this mission has not yet been implemented in the 16 years since it was published. Small satellite technology has come a long way in the past 16 years and the MARCO mission has proven the capability to communicate from Mars at the 6U CubeSat scale which drastically decreases the costs of such a mission. We will be further analyzing the concept and planning details for executing the mission using a CubeSat.

An Earth Imaging CubeSat as A Disaster Relief Tool for Amateur Radio Operators

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) · Oct 25, 2021

Link: https://dl.iafastro.directory/event/IAC-2021/paper/65820/

Co-authored with: Donya Naz Divsalar, Megan Holmes, Julian Mentasti Meza, and Zavian Noah Tajwar

As climate change worsens, the severity and frequency of natural disasters are expected to increase dramatically and remote communities are the most exposed and vulnerable to these disasters. This is where amateur radio services play a significant role in emergency response. Our goal for ALEASAT is to serve and help these communities face the increasing environmental challenges they may encounter in the future. Traditionally disaster relief efforts have relied on Amateur Radio Operators (AROs) to continue the flow of information in these situations. However, they can only transmit data that is available to them which has historically not included satellite imagery data. To address this shortcoming, we designed ALEASAT, a 1U Earth-imaging CubeSat, that will provide on-demand satellite imagery directly to AROs.Co-authored with: Donya Naz Divsalar, Megan Holmes, Julian Mentasti Meza, and Zavian Noah Tajwar As climate change worsens, the severity and frequency of natural disasters are expected to increase dramatically and remote communities are the most exposed and vulnerable to these disasters. This is where amateur radio services play a significant role in emergency response. Our goal for ALEASAT is to serve and help these communities face the increasing environmental challenges they may encounter in the future. Traditionally disaster relief efforts have relied on Amateur Radio Operators (AROs) to continue the flow of information in these situations. However, they can only transmit data that is available to them which has historically not included satellite imagery data. To address this shortcoming, we designed ALEASAT, a 1U Earth-imaging CubeSat, that will provide on-demand satellite imagery directly to AROs.

Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies and Similarities to Calculations of Gravitational Lagrange Points

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) · Oct 25, 2021

Link: https://dl.iafastro.directory/event/IAC-2021/paper/66511/

Edited and presented at IAC 2021 for primary author Dylan J. Slocki.

A Spacecraft-Compatible Combined Artificial Gravity and Exercise (CAGE) System to Sustain Astronaut Health in the Next Generation of Long-Term Spaceflights

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) · Oct 1, 2020

Link: https://dl.iafastro.directory/event/IAC-2020/paper/60349/

Co-authored with: Donya Naz Divsalar, Farshid Sadeghian, Malcom Tremblay, John Thomas, Steven Richter, and Dr. Andrew P. Blaber

This publication details the design, current development, and design considerations for the CAGE system at Simon Fraser University's Aerospace Physiology Laboratory. CAGE is a short-arm human centrifuge that aims to mitigate the physiological downsides of spaceflight by producing artificial gravity (induced by centrifugation) and combining this with targeted exercise to specifically prevent bone and muscle loss.
The publication covers the following:
- Physiological Downsides of Spaceflight
- Current exercise regimens aboard the ISS
- Benefits of centrifugation-induced artificial gravity (AG) in spaceflight, and AG VS standing benefits
- CAGE system design, design considerations, and intended effects
- CAGE Control Centre system design (based on a modern MCU architecture) and considerations to enable safe operation & a private and reliable method for data monitoring/collection
- Miniaturized model aboard a 1U CubeSat to analyze the effects of a centrifuge on spaceflight

Inspiring Students through an Attitude Determination and Control System

Small Satellite Conference · Aug 1, 2019

Co-authored with: Caleb Gimpel

An abstract and poster presentation detailing the design of our attitude determination and control system for a 3U CubeSat and the related educational benefits and outreach at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary level.