Joost Hubbard

Joost Hubbard

Current MEng Aerospace Engineering student at Queen Mary University of London.

Advancing CubeSat Digital Twin Simulation: Industrial Liaison Forum 2025

1 minute read

Published:

The project “Designing a Generic Digital Twin for a CubeSat” focuses on developing a MATLAB-based simulation to model CubeSat dynamics. The simulation incorporates quaternion-based state propagation, disturbance torques, and initial control logic. This post outlines the current status, simulation results, and next steps in refining the CubeSat’s digital twin.

Current Simulation Features

The MATLAB simulation provides a structured approach to modeling CubeSat motion. It currently implements:

  • Quaternion-Based Attitude Representation: Ensuring numerically stable orientation tracking.
  • 3D Visualization: Real-time rendering of CubeSat orientation over time.
  • Disturbance Modeling: External torques from gravity gradient, aerodynamic drag, and residual magnetism.
  • Detumbling Control: Basic quaternion feedback controller for stabilization.

This setup establishes a foundation for integrating more advanced control and sensing capabilities.

System Diagram

ADCS_System_Flow
Figure 1: System Architecture - Overview of key modules in the simulation.

Simulation Results

Simulation Diagram

ADCSsysflow1
Figure 2: System Diagram - Outlines the system logic and data transfer between the MATLAB files.

The CubeSat’s behavior under quaternion feedback control has been analyzed, with key outputs including:

  1. Orientation Evolution (Roll, Pitch, Yaw)
    The simulation plots the CubeSat’s angular motion over time.

  2. Angular Velocity Decay
    The detumbling algorithm effectively reduces angular rates.

  3. External Disturbance Effects
    Gravity gradient and drag torques influence motion over time.

Output Plots

MEng_digicube_ilf_plot
Figure 3: Plots of the quaternion position, angular velocity, control input, and effective area over time from the simulation.

Video Demonstration

Below is a video showcasing the CubeSat’s simulated detumbling motion:

Figure 4: 3D Visualization of CubeSat Detumbling.

Next Steps

The upcoming development phases focus on enhancing the CubeSat model with:

  1. Actuator Integration: Implementing reaction wheels and magnetorquers for active control.
  2. Sensor Simulation: Modeling gyroscopes, sun sensors, and magnetometers for attitude determination.
  3. Refined Environmental Modeling: Enhancing disturbance torques with high-fidelity space environment effects.
  4. Advanced Control Laws: Testing and optimizing ADCS control strategies.

Conclusion

This milestone brings the CubeSat digital twin closer to real-world applicability. The integration of actuators, sensors, and refined environmental models will significantly enhance simulation accuracy.

For further discussions or collaborations, contact j.hubbard@se21.qmul.ac.uk. Stay tuned for more updates! 🚀

Visualizing CubeSat Dynamics: Progress on My MEng Project

2 minute read

Published:

As part of my ongoing MEng project, “Designing a Generic Digital Twin for a Cubesat”, I’ve developed an initial MATLAB-based simulation to visualize the dynamics of a CubeSat undergoing detumbling - representing significant progress in my role as the ADCS lead. This post outlines the current progress, simulation results, and the next steps to refine the model.

Simplifying Jupyter Books Creation: A Windows Users Guide

1 minute read

Published:

Over the summer in addition to personal research, I have been working as an active contributor to both a spacecraft dynamics textbook and a computational dynamics textbook created using Jupyter Books to complement modules taught at the Queen Mary University of London. As our project continues to evolve, we’ve recognized the need for a streamlined process to build and preview Jupyter Books locally on Windows machines. This capability is crucial for our team members to review their contributions before submitting pull requests on GitHub. To address this need, I’ve developed a comprehensive tutorial that walks through the process step-by-step.

Update on progress; impulse vs non-impulse simulation

1 minute read

Published:

Building upon my prior work using the Clohessy-Wiltshire equations to create a trajectory simulation for a target and chaser satellite (as discussed in blog post 2), the next step was to utilize and develop this code to compare the effects of impulsive and non-impulsive manoeuvres modelling. This somewhat spiralled into me writing a short paper to summarise my work (still in progress but attached to this post nonetheless).

What if? (Its a book not a question)

less than 1 minute read

Published:

On and off over the past few months I’ve been reading ‘What if?’ by Randall Monroe. Since the book is so popular it feels almost pointless to explain it, but I will just in case. The premise centres around providing logical, scientific solutions to absurd questions, think things like: ‘What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?’. These topics are covered in a way to keep the reader engaged, using humour while still actually answering the question somewhat accurately.