Structural Subsystem

The structure of a satellite is one of the satellite subsystems, and it is designed to provide a volume or a ‘shelter’ where all subsystems are assembled and housed. The primary missions of this ‘shelter’ are to protect all the satellite subsystems against external disturbances and to provide other subsystems a platform for healthy operation in space. Pumpkin and Innovative Solutions in Space were the first two educational CubeSat team-based spin-off companies to provide commercial off-the-shelf nanosatellite structures. Currently, there are quite a few companies providing nanosatellite and CubeSat structures of various form factors, also based on the CubeSat Design Specifications. The structure subsystem design is an integral part of the satellite design process, which starts at a conceptual level and is based on design specifications derived from mission requirements. These specifications usually include accommodation of payload and the other subsystems, environmental protection, etc.