• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.401-406
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• 2013

Non-explosive shockless holding and release mechanism for a nano class small satellite application has been proposed and investigated. The great advantages of the mechanism are a much lower shock level and larger constraint force than the conventional mechanism using pyro and the heating wire cutting mechanism which has been generally applied to the cube satellite program. To investigate the effectiveness of the mechanism design, EM mechanism was developed and tested to verify the basic function of the mechanism. The test results indicate that the proposed mechanism is well functioning as the mechanism design intends.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.602-613
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• 2015

As one of the mission payloads to be verified through the cube satellite mission of Cube Laboratory for Space Technology Experimental Project (STEP Cube Lab), we developed a hinge driving separation nut-type holding and releasing mechanism. The mechanism offers advantages, such as a large holding capacity and negligible induced shock, although its activation principle is based on a nylon cable cutting mechanism triggered by a nichrome burn wire generally used for cube satellite applications for the purpose of holding and releasing onboard appendages owing to its simplicity and low cost. The basic characteristics of the mechanism have been measured through a release function test, static load test under qualification temperature limits, and shock measurement test. In addition, the structural safety and operational functionality of the mechanism module under launch and on-orbit environments have been successfully demonstrated through a vibration test and thermal vacuum test.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.827-832
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• 2013

Heating wire cutting type separation mechanism has been widely used for cube satellite applications due to its design constraints such as small size of $10cm{\times}10cm{\times}10cm$ and light weight of less than 1kg. In addition, usage of pyro technic device is not allowed for cube satellite application. The conventional methods have some disadvantages of relatively small mechanical constraint force and the system complexity for the multi-deployable systems. In this paper, a separation nut type non-explosive separation mechanism has been proposed and investigated. The effectiveness of the design has been verified through the qualification tests of the mechanism.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.720-725
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• 2013

Nylon wire cutting method by nichrome wire is generally applicable for cube satellite applications due to its advantages of simplicity. However, the system complexity is not avoidable to apply it on the cube satellite with multi-deployable structures. A lower constraint force of the mechanism is also one of the disadvantages of the mechanism. In this study, we proposed a preliminary structure design of cube satellite with the separation mechanism which is applicable for holding and release of the multi-deployable structures. The effectiveness of the mechanism design was verified through function test of EM mechanism. The structure analysis results showed that the structure design proposed in this study is feasible.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.81-88
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• 2021

In general, a non-explosive nylon wire cutting-based holding and release mechanism has been used to store and deploy deployable solar panels of CubeSat. However, with this method, accessing the solar panel's access port for charging the cube satellite's battery and electrical inspection and testing of the PCB and payloads while the solar panel is in storage is difficult. Additionally, the mechanism must have a reliable release function in an in-orbit environment, and reusability for stow and deploy of the solar panel, which is a hassle for the operator and difficult to maintain a consistent nylon wire fastening process. In this study, we proposed a pin-puller-based solar panel holding and release mechanism that can easily deploy a solar panel without cutting nylon wires by separating constraining pins. The proposed mechanism's release function and performance were verified through a solar panel deployment test and a maximum separation load measurement test. Through this, we also verified the design feasibility and effectiveness of the pin-puller-based separation device.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.430-436
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• 2014

The mission objective of STEP Cube Lab. (Cube Laboratory for Space Technology Experimental Project) classified as a pico-class satellite is to verify the technical effectiveness of payloads such as variable emittance radiator, SMA washer, oscillating heat pipe and MEMS based solid propellant thruster researched at domestic universities. In addition, the MEMS concentrating photovoltaic power system and the non-explosive holding and separation mechanism with the advantages of high constraint force and low shock level will be developed as the primary payloads for on-orbit verification. In this study, the feasibility of the mission actualization has been confirmed by the preliminary system design.