AutoDesk Inventor and SolidWorks are powerful software packages for the computer-aided design of spacecraft. Ultimately you need to use one of those packages for the mechanical design of your satellite, but what about the preliminary design phase when you are still determining what components you even need? The CAD software in the Spacecraft Control Toolbox can provide you with a valuable tool to do your conceptual layouts and early trade studies, and the same model can be used as the basis for disturbance analysis in later design phases.
A CAD model in SCT is built in a script which allows you to build your models algorithmically. You can call design functions, use for loops and revision-control your source code. For example, within the script you can do an eclipse analysis and compute the battery capacity. This number can generate the volume of your batteries which you can then use to size your spacecraft.
The function BuildCADModel provides the model-building interface. The CreateComponent function is used to generate the individual components using parameter pairs as arguments. Components are grouped into bodies to allow for rotation and articulation. A GUI displays your finished model and allows you to visualize it in 3D. You then store your finished models as mat-files. Our disturbance model uses every triangle in your model for disturbance analysis.
The example figure shows a solar sail design, with the spacecraft bus in the middle. BuildCADModel allows you to group components into subsystems as on the left-hand side, which can then be highlighted using transparency.
The figure below shows the BuildCADModel GUI which allows you to verify the body and component properties.
There are many examples of spacecraft models in the SCT to help you get started, and a lengthy chapter in the User’s Guide discussing the finer points of component location, orientation, and physical properties such as drag and optical coefficients. Your CAD model essentially functions as a database for your entire spacecraft model!