Satellite Engineering Research Lab
Practical satellite engineering research, digital twin development and collaborative R&D addressing real industry challenges.
- 01Startup Idea
- 02Industry Problem
- 03Engineering Project
- 04Simulation / Prototype
- 05Evidence
- 06Research Outcome
iTelematics® · Space Research
Space Digital Twin
Learn to Protect Missions.
Build Systems That Protect Spacecraft.
- Physics-based
- Mathematical models
- Data-driven
- AI health monitoring Planned
- Cybersecurity Planned
Explore. Experiment. Understand.
Pick a subsystem, or click it on the model.
Satellite, stage 1 of 4: Spacecraft reveal
Model assumptions and limits
- 550 km circular orbit, β ≈ 20°: 95.6-minute orbit with 34.8 minutes of eclipse (cylindrical shadow).
- Orbit-average array power 41.8 W in sunlight; loads 22 W in sunlight and 14 W in eclipse (payload off); η_EPS 0.9, charge efficiency 0.95, 86 Wh battery.
- Fault: the published heater-stuck scenario (+6 W). Detection is a rule: SOC more than 0.8 percentage points below the model's prediction.
- Safe mode turns the payload off in every phase (14 W). Orbit margin: nominal +20.0 %, with the fault −9.1 %, in safe mode +12.8 %. No credit is taken for the sun-pointing attitude.
- The loop restarts from the settled nominal state; the spacecraft model is generic, not flight hardware.
Fault detection and protective actions here are deterministic engineering rules, not trained AI. AI-based anomaly detection, battery-health estimation and quantum-inspired scheduling are planned research.
Explore satellites, spacecraft, orbital constellations and space stations through realistic 3D engineering experiences. Discover how electrical power, energy storage, telemetry, physics, cybersecurity and intelligent health monitoring support space missions.
- 01
Startup Ideas
Identify and develop practical Satellite Engineering ideas with commercial or startup potential.
- 02
Industry Requirements
Research aligned with real requirements in spacecraft systems, energy, telemetry, sensors and mission operations.
- 03
Practical Projects
Build simulations, engineering models, prototypes, technical workflows and engineering evidence.
- 04
Research & Engineering Development
Develop research in the spacecraft systems and engineering domains below, from model to evidence.
- Satellite Systems
- Electrical Power Systems / EPS
- Solar Energy
- Battery Systems
- Telemetry
- Avionics
- Sensors
- Spacecraft Health Monitoring
- Digital Twins
- Mission Engineering
Research uses simulation, engineering models and educational hardware; nothing is flight-qualified. Taking part does not imply employment, university affiliation, research funding or certification. Scope, format and availability are confirmed when we discuss your research.
Flagship research
Satellite Energy & Telemetry Intelligence
How a spacecraft generates, stores, consumes and reports energy through every orbit.
- Sun
- Solar Array
- EPS
- Battery
- Loads
- Solar
- 41.8 W
- Battery
- 98.3 %
- Load
- 22.0 W
- Margin
- +15.6 W
Can the satellite generate, store and manage enough energy to complete its mission safely?
- State
- Sunlight
- Solar
- 41.8 W
- Load
- 22.0 W
- Battery
- 98.4 %
- charging
- Margin
- +15.6 W
- surplus
- Link
- Contact
- downlink
6U reference case · simulated values, not flight data
Reference case and assumptions
- Spacecraft
- 6U Earth-observation CubeSat
- Orbit
- 550 km sun-synchronous orbit, β ≈ 20°
- Period
- 95.6 min · sunlight 61 min · eclipse 34.8 min
- Battery
- 2S4P Li-ion, 7.2 V nominal, 86 Wh
- Loads
- 22 W sunlight · 14 W eclipse (payload off)
- Efficiencies
- EPS 0.9 · charge 0.95
Battery state of charge, three orbits
- Sensors
- Onboard computer
- Radio
- Ground
| Parameter | Sunlight | Eclipse | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eclipse state | SUNLIGHT | ECLIPSE | Orbit propagation, sun sensors |
| Solar generation | 41.8 W | 0.0 W | Array voltage and current sensors |
| Battery SOC | 91 % · rising | 89 % · end of eclipse | Coulomb counting with voltage correction |
| Battery voltage | 8.18 V | 8.03 V | Pack voltage sense |
| Battery current | +1.9 A · charging | −1.9 A · discharging | Shunt current sensor |
| Battery temperature | 17 °C | 6 °C · near 5 °C heater threshold | Thermistors on the pack |
| Bus voltage (5 V rail) | 5.01 V | 4.99 V | EPS rail monitors |
| Subsystem load | 22.0 W | 14.0 W · payload off | Per-channel EPS current sensing |
| Telemetry availability | 100 % frames logged | 100 % frames logged | Onboard housekeeping log |
| Sensor health | NOMINAL · all channels | NOMINAL · sun sensors masked | Sensor self-test, cross-checks |
| Orbit energy margin | +20.0 % | +20.0 % | Derived: energy-balance model |
Illustrative reference case · simulated values, not flight data.
- FaultSolar array
- EPS input
- Battery recharge
- Energy margin
Less generation every orbit. The battery no longer recovers fully, so SOC trends down orbit after orbit.
- 1Concept
- 2Research
- 2Simulation
- 0Prototype
- 1Experimental
- 0Validated
- 4Planned
- Research
System architecture
Energy and information paths, subsystem interfaces and the decision loop.
- Research
Reference case & equations
Orbit geometry, eclipse fraction, energy balance, depth of discharge and SOC, published here.
- Simulation
Orbit energy model
The simulation behind this page: sunlight and eclipse, loads, battery SOC and fault scenarios.
- Simulation
CubeTwin energy simulator (v0.01)
Educational prototype: solar generation, loads, battery SOC, voltage and temperature, CSV telemetry export. Open CubeTwin (opens in a new tab)
- Experimental
Fault experiments
Array degradation, stuck-on heater and sensor-fault scenarios.
- Concept
Requirements
Verifiable energy, telemetry and health requirements traced to the architecture.
- Planned
Battery SOH / RUL estimation
Degradation and remaining useful life from telemetry.
- Planned
Health classification
Context-aware nominal / warning / fault logic and anomaly detection.
- Planned
Hardware telemetry
Measured telemetry from an educational flatsat engineering model.
- Planned
Validation
Comparison of models and simulations against independent reference data.
Nothing here is production-ready or flight-qualified. No result is flight evidence.
Limitations and known gaps
- One reference case: no seasonal variation of β angle or eclipse duration.
- Array power is an orbit average; attitude and self-shadowing are not modelled.
- Loads are constant within each phase; ground-pass radio loads are not modelled.
- Battery capacity is fixed: no temperature dependence, ageing, SOH or RUL model yet.
- Nothing is yet calibrated against a physical test article or measured mission data.
Open research questions
- How does eclipse duration affect satellite battery SOC?
- How should loads be prioritised during low-energy conditions?
- How can telemetry identify early battery degradation?
- How should solar-generation uncertainty be represented?
- How can sensor anomalies be distinguished from true subsystem faults?
- How should mission energy margins be calculated?
- How can telemetry support safe-mode decisions?
Review, guide or contribute.
Research and collaboration enquiries are welcome from academia, industry and the global space ecosystem.
Choose your Satellite Engineering research.
Tell us your background and the engineering problem you want to work on.