Overview
From the year 2020, the Kenya Space Agency embarked on a capacity building endeavor in space technology and its applications within the country. Towards this, the agency introduced competitive research grant opportunities for Kenyan public universities. For the FY 2020/2021, two research grants were announced: Nanosatellite Development and Space Weather Research Chair projects. UoN, through Prof. Mwangi Mbuthia of the department of Electrical & Information Engineering (EIE), was among the 5 universities awarded Kshs. 1 million each in the nanosatellite development category to develop a bench model of a nanosatellite (CubeSat). The 5 universities were to be ranked based on their results and the top 3 universities would proceed to the next stage of the 1U nanosatellite development in the next financial year.
The UoN nanosatellite project was christened Nanosatellite Platform for the University of Nairobi (NaSPUoN). It was comprised of students and faculty members from the Faculty of Engineering. These members were drawn from three departments, namely: Electrical and Information Engineering (EIE), Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME), and Geospatial and Space Technology (GST). The team commenced work in September 2020 under the guidance of EIE faculty: Prof. Mwangi Mbuthia and Dr. Cosmas Mutugi Kiruki.
Sponser
Principal Investigator
Abstract
NaSPUoN (Nanosatellite Platform for the University of Nairobi)
From the year 2020, the Kenya Space Agency embarked on a capacity building endeavor in space
technology and its applications within the country. Towards this, the agency introduced competitive
research grant opportunities for Kenyan public universities. For the FY 2020/2021, two research
grants were announced: Nanosatellite Development and Space Weather Research Chair projects.
UoN, through Prof. Mwangi Mbuthia of the department of Electrical & Information Engineering
(EIE), was among the 5 universities awarded Kshs. 1 million each in the nanosatellite development
category to develop a bench model of a nanosatellite (CubeSat). The 5 universities were to be ranked
based on their results and the top 3 universities would proceed to the next stage of the 1U
nanosatellite development in the next financial year.
The UoN nanosatellite project was christened Nanosatellite Platform for the University of
Nairobi (NaSPUoN). It was comprised of students and faculty members from the Faculty of
Engineering. These members were drawn from three departments, namely: Electrical and
Information Engineering (EIE), Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME), and
Geospatial and Space Technology (GST). The team commenced work in September 2020 under the
guidance of EIE faculty: Prof. Mwangi Mbuthia and Dr. Cosmas Mutugi Kiruki.
The NaSPUoN team was comprised of the following members:
1. Eng. Prof. Mwangi Mbuthia – Principal
Investigator, EIE
2. Dr. Mutugi Kiruki – Project Manager, EIE
3. Ms. Betsy Mugo – Staff, GST
4. Mr. Duncan Kariuki – Student, MME
5. Mr. Chand Patel – Student, MME
6. Mr. Sonny Munene – Student, MME
7. Ms. June Akinyi – Student, EIE
8. Mr. Alvyne Mwaniki – Student, EIE
9. Mr. Alex Gichamba– Student, EIE
10. Mr. Brian Nzangi– Student, GST
11. Ms. Christine Nyakinyua– Student, GST
12. Ms. Veronica Akinyi – Student, GST
Prof. Mbutihia and Dr. kiruki with paer of NaSPUoN team.
Since this was a capacity-building project, the main aim was to take the students through the development cycle of a 1U CubeSat. The students were first taken through the fundamentals of nanosatellite development, including the various software to be used in the development. This included PCB design tools and other CAD software. The project aim was to have a functional but not space-grade nanosatellite. As a result, NaSPUoN was 3-D printed and module-based. It had 2 missions: Camera and LoRa missions. The camera mission was based on a Raspberry Pi v2 Camera
Module while for the LoRa mission, the Ebyte E32-915T20D LoRa module was used.
The NaSPUoN subsystems consisted of the Onboard Computer (OBC), Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS) and the Communication subsystem. The OBC and Communication were based on Raspberry Pi Zero and XBee module.
NaSPUoN CAD Model
The figures below show the 1st and 2nd version of NaSPUoN.
Various tests were performed on NaSPUoN including communication tests. The 1st test was from the top of the UoN Towers with the receiving terminal on the ground as shown in the following images
XBee Terminals on the ground and on top of UoN Towers
On 14th October 2021, KSA organized a practical demonstration and presentation by all the 5 participating universities at the Konza Technopolis City. KSA provided a drone to fly the various nanosatellite and evaluate their performance, including establishing communication link with the ground terminals. NaSPUoN operated successfully from the drone and was able to complete both the Camera and LoRa missions by capturing images atop the drone and transmitting them to the ground station, together with the LoRa data.
After the demonstration at Konza and evaluation by a panel of judges, KSA organized an awards ceremony on 16th Nov 2021 at Movenpick Hotel, Nairobi. The University of Nairobi (NaSPUoN) team emerged the Overall Winner of the year-long Nanosatellite Development research project, beating 4 other public universities that included JKUAT, Moi, KU and TUK.
As a result, KSA announced another round of funding for the FY 2021/2022 of a 3U CubeSat Engineering Model. This is to be carried out by a consortium of 4 universities, with UoN providing leadership of the project. Prof. Mbuthia will be the chief PI of the project. The other participating universities are JKUAT, KU and TUK. The project is scheduled to kick-off in January 2022.
