AlbaCubeSat
On-Board Software (OBSW) Engineering in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the University of Padua.
AlbaCubeSat is a highly ambitious university satellite project developed in direct collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission's goal is to launch a fully functional CubeSat into low Earth orbit. I am part of the core On-Board Software (OBSW) engineering team.
The Plenary Team
A presentation event involving all sectors of the AlbaCubeSat UniPd team. I'm on the left wearing a pink shirt. Within the OBSW (On-Board Software) division, we are a group of 5 engineers and computer scientists.
Detumbling Mode Engineering
I took ownership of the Detumbling Mode, a critical phase post-deployment. The satellite must dramatically stabilize its rotation utilizing the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) and magnetic torquers before initiating main operations. I engineered this entire logic natively in C.
Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL)
Code execution in simulated environments is not enough for aerospace standards. I conducted strict physical Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing of the software directly on the Nanomind A3200 onboard computer in the laboratory.
Zero-Fail Constraints & ESA Standards
Developed comprehensive unit tests and mocked hardware interfaces (e.g., battery sensors, gyroscopes) to validate failure states and safe-mode triggers. Every line of code was strictly audited.
Key Contributions & Achievements
Engineered the critical Detumbling Mode logic in C to stabilize the satellite's angular velocity utilizing the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS).
Conducted physical Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing of the software on the actual Nanomind A3200 onboard computer.
Developed comprehensive unit tests and mocked hardware interfaces (e.g. battery sensors, gyroscopes) to validate failure states and safe-mode triggers.
Collaborated closely with a multidisciplinary space systems team following strict ESA software standards.