Development of a composite satellite structure for FORTE

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in partnership with Composite Optics Incorporated (COI) has advanced the development of low-cost, lightweight, composite technology for use in small satellite structures, in this case, for the Fast On-Orbit Recording of Transient Events (FORTE) satellite mission. The use of advanced composites in space applications is well developed, but the application of an all-composite satellite structure has not been achieved until now. This paper investigates the application of composite technology in the design of an all-composite spacecraft structure for small satellites. Engineering analysis and test results obtained from the development of the spacecraft engineering model are also presented.