Harvard University CubeSat (HuCSat)
Mechanical Lead
HuCSat is a 2U CubeSat scheduled for launch through NASA’s prestigious CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) in the second quarter of 2026. The primary focus of our payload design is to explore the innovative use of nitinol, a shape memory alloy, to deploy and actuate solar panels, offering a novel alternative to traditional motor-driven mechanisms. We are using a Sarrus linkage mechanism.
As the mechanical team lead, I coordinate the integration of mechanical components with electrical and software subsystems, overseeing tolerance analyses, prototyping, and environmental testing to validate performance.