ZAC MANCHESTER. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Zac Manchester is an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, director of the Stanford Robotic Exploration Lab, a member of the Breakthrough Starshot advisory committee, and founder of the KickSat project.
He holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and a B.S. in applied physics from Cornell University. Zac has previously worked at Harvard University, NASA Ames Research Center, and Analytical Graphics, Inc. His research interests include motion planning, control, and optimization with application to spacecraft, and robotics.
Presentation Synopsis:
‘PyCubed-1: An Open-Source PocketQube With 3-Axis Attitude Control’
The Robotic Exploration Lab at Stanford has developed an open-source 1P PocketQube based on the PyCubed avionics suite that allows all flight code to be written in the python programming language. PyCubed-1 also includes UHF and S-band radios, a camera payload, and an innovative 3-axis attitude determination and control system that relies only on magnetic torque coils for actuation, freeing up the considerable mass and volume that would be consumed by traditional flywheel-based momentum actuators. To the best of the author’s knowledge, PyCubed-1 will be the smallest satellite ever to demonstrate full 3-axis pointing capabilities.