Effects of Space Debris Collision on A Satellite with
5-Bar Linkage Robot Operation
Potiwat Ngamkajornwiwat
1
, Supachai Vongbunyong
2,
*, Narongsak Tirasuntarakul
3
and Tara Chalermsongsak
4
1
Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering (IBSS), College of Mechanical and Electrical
Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China; potiwat.n@gmail.com
2
Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing (I AM) Research Group, Institute of Field Robotics, King
Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand; supachai.von@kmutt.ac.th
3
Institute of Field Robotics, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand;
narongsak.tir@kmutt.ac.th
4
Mahidol University International College, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand; tara.cha@mahidol.edu
* Correspondence: supachai.von@kmutt.ac.th; Tel.: +662-470-9690
† Presented at the 2nd Innovation Aviation & Aerospace Industry - International Conference 2021, 28-30
June 2021; Available online: https://iaai-2021.sciforum.net, https://iaai.asia/
Published: 1 July 2021
Abstract: One of the most common damages of satellites is occurred by collisions of space debris.
The collision of the debris is unavoidable during the space operation; therefore, a study of physical
effects in relation to the collision must be conducted in order to understand the consequences. This
article proposes an experiment setup of a satellite with a 5-bar linkage planar robot working inside.
The structure, kinematics, and control architecture of the robot are presented. In addition, the
relationship between satellite damage and the debris' size and speed, which vary according to the
altitude, is analyzed. Consequently, the designs of small satellites' orbits can be improved by using
this study. As a result, the final condition of an operational satellite structure against a collision of
valuable space debris can be predicted. This study leads to future work where the design rules for
reducing the effect of payload variability will be developed.
Keywords: Satellite; 5-bar linkage robot; debris collision
1. Introduction
A CubeSat is a small satellite with the size of 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (1U). Since the 2000s, they
have been on focused among educational and engineering projects, which extensively aim for
designing the mission, building, and testing with an actual satellite. Until 2015s, around 465 CubeSats
were launched to the Earth orbit [1]. Currently, the number of space activities rises dramatically;
therefore, the number of space debris has increased accordingly. In 2019, it is estimated that more
than 19,000 space debris exist in space due to launching, fragmentation, explosions, and collision [2].
On the other hand, CubeSats regularly encounter problems in regard to space debris; as a result,
50-75% of them fail to operate [3]. Nowadays, the researchers emphasize on reduction of the collision
probability and technical design of the satellite to avoid space debris. Active control techniques are
implemented in around 80% of CubeSats [4]. However, avoidance of space debris is still challenging
due to two main factors: the speed of debris and the moments of CubeSats.
This paper is organized as follows. As a payload, the design of a robot system that will be used
for conducting experiment tasks inside the 3U CubeSat. Section 2 presents the structure design and
kinematics. Section 3 presents the system architecture and control of the robot. In Section 4, the effects
