公开(公告)号：US10899479B2

公开(公告)日：2021-01-26

申请号：US16005487

申请日：2018-06-11

Applicant: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Inventor： Kerri Lynn Cahoy ,  Christian Alexander Haughwout ,  Derek C. Barnes ,  Maxim Oleg Khatsenko ,  James R. Clark

IPC: B64G1/22 ,  B64G1/44 ,  B64G1/66 ,  E05D1/02 ,  F03G7/06

Abstract: A controllable shape memory alloy (SMA) hinge apparatus comprises multiple SMA elements to effect a first angle of rotation and a second angle of rotation between a first object and a second object. In one example, respective SMA elements are independently activated by Joule heating to rotate the first object and/or the second object. SMA elements undergo a three-dimensional transformation, and a pair of elements may undergo antagonistic transformations so as to provide for a multiple-use bidirectional non-continuous rotary actuator. SMA elements may be trained to achieve different angles of rotations between the objects (e.g., zero degrees and 90 degrees). In some examples, the first object may be a spacecraft (e.g., a satellite) and the second object may be a deployable structure (e.g., a robotic appendage, a deployable solar panel, a deployable aperture, a deployable mirror, a deployable radiator, and at least one actuator to steer an antenna dish).

公开(公告)号：US10530478B2

公开(公告)日：2020-01-07

申请号：US15805094

申请日：2017-11-06

Applicant: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Inventor： Ryan Wallace Kingsbury ,  Kathleen Michelle Riesing ,  Kerri Lynn Cahoy ,  Tam Nguyen Thuc Nguyen ,  David O. Caplan

IPC: H04B10/00 ,  H04B10/118 ,  H04B7/185

Abstract: Communication bottlenecks, particularly in the downlink direction, are a common problem for many CubeSat developers. As described herein, a CubeSat module for a CubeSat comprises an optical transmitter to transmit data to a remote terminal, a receiver to acquire an optical beacon from a remote terminal, and a fine-pointing module operably and directly coupleable to a coarse-pointing module of the CubeSat. The fine-pointing module is configured to point the optical transmitter toward the remote terminal with an accuracy range that overlaps with an accuracy range of the coarse-pointing module of the CubeSat so as to establish a communications link between the CubeSat and the remote terminal over a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) distance.