Orbital CubeSat Division
Designing and Building a Real Space Mission
The McGill Rocket Team is starting its CubeSat division as a continuation of its Orbital CubeSat R&D project! We're diving into space missions by developing our own nanosatellite and ground station.
You'll get the chance to work on a real space mission by designing, building, and operating a CubeSat and its ground station. A CubeSat is a nanosatellite with a standardized form factor, allowing a lower barrier of entry to space and orbit conditions for scientific investigations.
As this is a long-term mission, your design will only be launched inside a rocket in future years. Rest assured, you will still see your designs in action as we will be using Recovery's High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) project to test designs.
About the Orbital CubeSat Division
Started in 2023, our end goal is to launch a real space mission where we get to design, build, and operate our own CubeSat. This division operates separately from the 6 rocket subteams, with the purpose of developing the expertise of McGill’s student body in space domains while also providing a unique chance to advance space science for driven McGill students and professors. We give students an opportunity to work on exciting aerospace projects and obtain invaluable hands-on experience in engineering and management.
We are aiming to design and build a common CubeSat bus for McGill so that different labs and research groups can use it and adapt it. We are also targeting the next iteration of the CUBICS program offered by the Canadian Space Agency, which provides us with a launch opportunity to orbit Earth.
CubeSat Projects
OCS1 Structures and Mechanisms
The Structures and Mechanisms project is responsible for the physical framework of our CubeSat. Within the constraints of the standardized form factor, your role will be to design the internal and external structure, configure and allocate subsystems within the CubeSat structure, while ensuring that the satellite can withstand the launch environment of a rocket and remain reliable throughout its operational lifetime of 3 to 12 months in orbit in the harsh environment of space.
You will gain hands-on experience with an open-source CubeSat structure, adapting it to our mission requirements and improving it, and making additions where needed. Core responsibilities include researching, developing, and testing separation mechanisms, antenna deployment mechanisms, and solar array drive deployment mechanisms. You will also be involved in space allocation for subsystems and the definition of thermal analysis and management strategies, including both active and passive thermal solutions.
This is an R&D-heavy project, emphasizing iteration and testing. You will design and analyze mechanical components using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis), prototype mechanisms, and validate concepts through testing. The work will require creativity to optimize the limited space, weight, and thermal budgets while ensuring robustness and reliability.
OCS2: Command and Data Handling
Every CubeSat is launched with a mission. But how do we make sure that we can send commands to the CubeSat from Earth, and it can store and manage the data it collects in orbit? That’s where the Command & Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem comes in. Often called the “brain” of the CubeSat, C&DH coordinates between all other subsystems. Without a functioning C&DH, the CubeSat is unable to carry out its mission.
Over the past years, the team has been dedicated to developing C&DH board schematics and memory drivers, establishing communication between processors and supporting the subsystem’s next design phase. This year, we’ll focus on building a reliable architecture, improving how the satellite handles data and commands, and making sure C&DH integrates seamlessly with power, telemetry, ADCS, and payload subsystems.
By joining the OCS Command & Data Handling project, you will have the opportunity to practice embedded programming, work hands-on with memory, processors, microcontrollers, PCB design, communication protocols, and system integration. Members will also gain experience not only in software and hardware, but also in understanding how the whole CubeSat comes together.
OCS3: Space-Ground Communication
The Space-Ground Communication project focuses on one of the most critical aspects of satellite missions: communication. Without a reliable link between the satellite and Earth, a CubeSat becomes little more than space debris. We aim to design and implement a robust communication system that ensures safe, consistent, and reliable data transfer between our CubeSat and its ground station.
To achieve this, the project is divided into multiple components. These include RF circuit design for the onboard radio, antenna development for both the satellite and possibly for the ground station, software-defined radio (SDR), and communication protocols to manage data transfer. Together, these components form the backbone of a functioning satellite mission.
As a team member, you’ll get hands-on experience in one or more subsystems, designing hardware, experimenting with antennas, coding communication protocols, and testing radio modules. While a dedicated ground station may not be guaranteed this year, our main objective is to design and test a “flat-sat”, a tabletop version of the CubeSat, to validate our communication chain end-to-end.
OCS4: Attitude Determination and Control
The Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) is a critical system in the CubeSat’s success. It is responsible for maintaining and controlling the CubeSat's orientation in space so that the satellite survives and completes its mission. The ADCS ensures the satellite's sensors, antennas, and solar panels are pointed in the correct direction at the right time to allow the CubeSat to perform its mission tasks, enable communication with the ground station, and maintain power at all times. The ADCS achieves this by combining sensors that determine the satellite's orientation (attitude) with actuators that allow the satellite to rotate and make adjustments to correct any deviations.
This year, we aim to develop a working prototype for the ADCS board and create physical tests to gauge the performance of the system. On the hardware side, recruits will design control circuits for actuators and circuits to read and control sensors, and develop these circuits into a functioning PCB using Altium. On the software side, recruits will program a microcontroller using C and develop drivers to read sensor data, sensor fusion algorithms, and control algorithms for actuators. This will involve developing a controller on MATLAB/Simulink and conducting hardware-in-the-loop testing to refine the algorithm. Lastly, on the mechanical and physics side, recruits will develop and manufacture magnetorquers for precise actuation, analyze complex torque equations for the development of sensor fusion and control algorithms, and model physical perturbations in space to refine the accuracy of the controller on MATLAB/Simulink.
The ADCS project is highly collaborative between disciplines, and one of the most complex systems on the CubeSat. By joining the team, you will gain industry-applicable skills in the fields of controls, PCB development, embedded systems, and gain a better knowledge base on satellite development.
OCS5: Power
The Power project is responsible for generating, storing, and distributing electrical power to all subsystems of the CubeSat. As the most critical enabler of satellite functionality, the power system is also the most heavily scrutinized, verified, and tested to ensure it is safe to fly aboard a rocket and remain reliable in orbit for 3 to 12 months.
You will gain hands-on experience with an open-source CubeSat power system as a starting point, adapting it to our mission requirements and improving it where needed. Core responsibilities include selecting and designing solar panels and batteries, developing power distribution boards, and implementing battery charging and protection systems. You will also investigate redundancy and fault-tolerant designs to ensure the CubeSat remains operational even under unexpected conditions.
This is a highly R&D-focused project, emphasizing careful iteration, testing, and validation. You will work through the full hardware development cycle: circuit design and simulation, PCB layout, prototyping, and rigorous verification. The work will challenge you to optimize energy generation, storage, and distribution within the strict limits of mass, volume, and orbital conditions, while ensuring robustness and reliability.