Development of a Novel Deployable Solar Panel and Mechanism for 6U CubeSat of STEP Cube Lab-II

The structural safety of solar cells mounted on deployable solar panels in the launch vibration environment is a significant aspect of a successful CubeSat mission. This paper presents a novel highly damped deployable solar panel module that is effective in ensuring structural protection of solar cells under the launch environment by rapidly suppressing the vibrations transmitting through the solar panel by constrained layer damping achieved using printed circuit board (PCB)-based multilayered thin stiffeners with double-sided viscoelastic tapes. A high-damping solar panel demonstration model with a three-pogo pin-based burn wire release mechanism was fabricated and tested for application in the 6U CubeSat “STEP Cube Lab-II” developed by Chosun University, South Korea. The reliable release function and radiation hardness assurance of the mechanism in an in-orbit environment were confirmed by performing solar panel deployment tests and radiation tests, respectively. The design effectiveness and structural safety of the proposed solar panel module were validated by launch vibration and in-orbit environment tests at the qualification level.