NASA Deployable Composite BoomA NASA survey chapter compares aluminium frames, deployable booms and printed structures for small spacecraft.
nasa-small-spacecraft-structures This chapter of a NASA survey, written at NASA Ames, looks at how small spacecraft are built. It covers CubeSat frames, the rails that meet the launch dispenser, booms that extend after launch, and parts made on a 3D printer. It helps a builder choose a structure type and material before design starts.
Most commercial frames are machined from aluminium alloy 6061 or 7075. NASA's own composite boom, built for the Advanced Composite Solar Sail project, weighs less than a quarter as much as metal booms. Printed plastic parts have already flown on small satellites.
A NASA survey of how small spacecraft are built. It compares machined aluminium frames, 3D-printed structures and deployable booms, and is useful for choosing a structure type and material before design starts.
NanoAvionics makes frames from 1U to 12U in 7075 aluminium, and GomSpace's 6U frame is 7075 too. ISISPACE's 3U and Spacemind's 1U are 6061. EnduroSat's frames, 1U to 6U, come in either 6061-T651 or 7075.
AAC Clyde Space makes its 3U structure as a monocoque chassis, a single shell, with a mass of 0.394 kg. Pumpkin machines its kit structures from aluminium 5052-H32, with solid walls or with material cut away. Dispenser rules often call for anodised aluminium rails.
A boom is a long arm that extends once the satellite is in orbit. The chapter describes four composite booms, from CTD, Oxford Space Systems, Redwire and NASA. Redwire's come in lengths of 1 to 5 m. NASA's is 7 m long and can extend to 16.5 m.
The Frangibolt from EBAD TiNi uses a cylinder of copper-aluminium-nickel shape memory alloy, a metal that changes shape when heated. The Mini Frangibolt breaks a custom notched #4 fastener by pulling it apart. The FD04 model holds 667 N and weighs 0.007 kg. The ML50 Micro Latch weighs 0.015 kg.
3D printing has reached the main structure of some small satellites. On TechEdSat, secondary pieces were printed in Markforged Onyx, a nylon-based filament with carbon fibre. KySat-2, TANCREDO-1 and the Naval Academy's RECS robotic arms used Windform. The chapter advises against polylactic acid (PLA) in harsh conditions.
Frames from NanoAvionics and GomSpace, and one of two options for EnduroSat's frames.
Frames from ISISPACE and Spacemind, and the EnduroSat 3U structure.
Pumpkin's CubeSat kit structures, from sub-1U up to the 12U SUPERNOVA.
The rails. Dispenser rules often call for them.
The deployable booms from CTD, Oxford Space Systems, Redwire and NASA.
Printed parts on KySat-2 and TANCREDO-1, and the Naval Academy's RECS robotic arms.
NASA Ames wrote the chapter, but most of the hardware in it comes from other makers. Printed secondary pieces were flown on TechEdSat. Windform parts went into KySat-2 and TANCREDO-1. The chapter describes an AstroTube boom for the 3U AlSat-1N, and NASA's own composite boom was built for the ACS3 solar sail project.
PSAS / Oregon State
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: 1U +X frame; Card wedge (card clamp) and more.
3D Windform print technology. Here: RECS robotic arms (Naval Academy); KySat-2 / TANCREDO-1 printed parts. There: Cell holder.
Anodized aluminium. Here: Dispenser-compatible rails. There: 1U +X frame (anodize); Card wedge (anodize) and more.
Copper. Here: Frangibolt actuator cylinder. There: Helical antenna (+Z end card); Outer copper foil and more.
NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: CubeSat structure; CubeSat structure (template row 2, body type Box).
Anodized aluminium. Here: Dispenser-compatible rails. There: Rails (deployer interface rails).
Copper. Here: Frangibolt actuator cylinder. There: Cabling, etc. (template row 14).
EnduroSat
Aluminium alloy 7075-T6. Here: EnduroSat structures (1U to 6U); EnduroSat 1U structure and more. There: EnduroSat structures (all sizes); 1U structure and more.
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: 3U structure; 6U structure and more.
Anodized aluminium. Here: Dispenser-compatible rails. There: Hard-anodized pearl finish.
Blackwing Space
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: Sparrow 1U Chassis; Sparrow 1U XL Chassis and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: TechEdSat secondary structural pieces. There: Structure option: carbon composite shell finish.
Blackwing Space
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: Kestrel 3U XL Chassis; Structure (all platforms table).
Carbon fibre. Here: TechEdSat secondary structural pieces. There: Structure option: carbon composite shell finish.
Blackwing Space
Aluminium alloy 6061. Here: EnduroSat 3U structure; ISISPACE 3U structure and more. There: Osprey 6U XL Chassis; Structure (all platforms table).
Carbon fibre. Here: TechEdSat secondary structural pieces. There: Structure option: carbon composite shell finish.
The chapter stays quiet on which fibre and resin go into the booms, and on the alloy AAC Clyde Space uses for its chassis. It names no fasteners, inserts or adhesives for any frame, and gives no mass breakdown for a whole spacecraft. It says little about thermal design or solar panels.
What is written above is built from these numbers and quotes. Each row links to the page it was taken from. Get all of it as JSON, or ask our MCP server.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| 1U nominal size | 10 x 10 x 10 cm |
| EnduroSat 1U frame | 100 x 100 x 114 mm, <0.1 (units as printed in table, likely kg), Al 6061 or 7075 |
| EnduroSat 3U frame | 100 x 100 x 340 mm, < 0.29, Al 6061 |
| NanoAvionics 3U frame | 100 x 100 x 340.5 mm, 0.312, Al 7075-T6 |
| ROC boom length | 1 to 5 m |
| NASA DCB boom length | 7 m (ACS3), extensible to 16.5 m |
| DCB mass vs metal | less than 25 percent of metallic booms |
Each material named in the sources: where it is used here, which other products use it, and its key numbers when its material page exists.
Used in 6 partsEnduroSat structures (1U to 6U) · EnduroSat 1U structure · NanoAvionics modular 3U structure · +3 more
Used in 4 partsCTD STELOC slit-tube boom · Oxford Space Systems AstroTube boom (AlSat-1N) · Redwire Roll Out Composite (ROC) boom · +1 more
Used in 3 partsEnduroSat 3U structure · ISISPACE 3U structure · Spacemind 1U structure
Used in 2 partsRECS robotic arms (Naval Academy) · KySat-2 / TANCREDO-1 printed parts
Used in 1 partPumpkin CubeSat Kit structures (sub-1U to 12U SUPERNOVA)
Used in 1 partDispenser-compatible rails
Used in 1 partFrangibolt actuator cylinder
Used in 1 partElectronic board conformal coating
Used in 1 partTechEdSat secondary structural pieces
The chapter names real commercial structures, booms and release mechanisms with materials, masses and sizes in tables, but gives no internal parts list for any one spacecraft.
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin CubeSat Kit structures (sub-1U to 12U SUPERNOVA)“Pumpkin offerings are machined from Al 5052-H32 and can be either solid-wall or skeletonized.” | Al 5052-H32aluminium-5052 | — | Pumpkin CubeSat Kit / SUPERNOVA (6U, 12U) |
| AAC Clyde Space CS 3U structure“The 3U structure has a mass of 0.394 kg and dimensions of 100 x 100 x 340.5 mm.” | Not said | — | AAC Clyde Space CS CubeSat Structure |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| EnduroSat 3U structure“EnduroSat 3U 100 x 100 x 340 < 0.29 Al 6061” | Al 6061aluminium-6061 | — | EnduroSat 3U (primary structure mass < 0.29 kg) |
| EnduroSat structures (1U to 6U)“all EnduroSat structures are made of either Aluminum 6061-T651 or Al 7075” | Aluminum 6061-T651 or Al 7075aluminium-7075 | — | — |
| EnduroSat 1U structure“1U 100 x 100 x 114 < 0.1 Al 6061 or 7075” | Al 6061 or 7075aluminium-7075 | — | EnduroSat 1U (< 0.1 kg) |
| NanoAvionics modular 3U structure“3U 100 x 100 x 340.5 0.312 Al 7075-T6” | Al 7075-T6aluminium-7075 | — | NanoAvionics 3U (0.312 kg) |
| NanoAvionics frames and structural elements (1U to 12U)“made from 7075 aluminum” | 7075 aluminumaluminium-7075 | — | — |
| ISISPACE 3U structure“3U 100 x 100 x 341 0.24 Al 6061” | Al 6061aluminium-6061 | — | ISISPACE 3U (0.24 kg) |
| GomSpace 6U structure“GomSpace 6U 340.5 x 226.3 x 100 1.06 Al 7075” | Al 7075aluminium-7075 | — | GomSpace 6U (1.06 kg) |
| Spacemind 1U structure“Spacemind 1U 113.5 x 100 x 100 0.0849 Al 6061” | Al 6061aluminium-6061 | — | Spacemind 1U (0.0849 kg) |
| Ishitoshi Machining 1U structure“1U 100 x 100 x 113.5 0.1 A7075, A6061” | A7075, A6061aluminium-7075 | — | Ishitoshi Machining 1U (0.1 kg) |
| Dispenser-compatible rails“requirements often entail anodized aluminum rails” | anodized aluminumanodized-aluminium | anodized | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTD STELOC slit-tube boom“composite boom called the Stable Tubular Extendable Lock-Out Composite (STELOC)” | composite (fibre and resin not stated)fibre-reinforced-polymer-composite | — | Composite Technology Development STELOC with SlitLock edge |
| Oxford Space Systems AstroTube boom (AlSat-1N)“a total mass of 0.61 kg” | flexible composite (fibre and resin not stated)fibre-reinforced-polymer-composite | — | AstroTube; 3U AlSat-1N |
| Redwire Roll Out Composite (ROC) boom“fabricated from fiber reinforced polymer composites” | fiber reinforced polymer compositesfibre-reinforced-polymer-composite | — | Redwire ROC Boom; CubeSat ROC Boom Deployer; ROC-FALL |
| NASA Deployable Composite Boom (DCB) for ACS3“a low weight of less than 25% compared to metallic booms” | composite (fibre and resin not stated)fibre-reinforced-polymer-composite | — | NASA Langley DCB / ACS3 |
| RECS robotic arms (Naval Academy)“The RECS robotic arms were built using 3D Windform print technology.” | 3D Windform print technologywindform-sls-nylon | — | CRP Windform (grade not stated for RECS) |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frangibolt actuator cylinder“Copper- Aluminum-Nickel memory shape alloy cylinder” | Copper-Aluminum-Nickel memory shape alloycopper | — | EBAD TiNi FD04 Frangibolt (Table 6-6: mass 0.007 kg, holding capacity 667 N) |
| Frangibolt fastener“custom notched #4 fastener in tension” | custom notched #4 fastener (material not stated) | — | EBAD TiNi Mini Frangibolt |
| ML50 Micro Latch“Max Release Load 222.4 N” | not stated | — | EBAD TiNi ML50 (mass 0.015 kg; 4-40 thread) |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| TechEdSat secondary structural pieces“Secondary structural pieces have been flown through the TechEdSat program using Markforged Onyx carbon fiber filaments.” | Markforged Onyx carbon fiber filaments (nylon-based)carbon-fibre | — | Markforged Onyx |
| KySat-2 / TANCREDO-1 printed parts“Windform XT 1.0 and 2.0 have been used on CubeSat and PocketQube platforms” | CRP Windform XT 1.0 and 2.0 (carbon fiber reinforced polymer, SLS)windform-sls-nylon | — | CRP USA Windform XT 1.0 / XT 2.0 |
| Electronic board conformal coating“The XP Charge Dissipation Coating has volume resistivities in the range of 108 – 1012 ohm-cm” | LUNA XP Charge Dissipation Coatingluna-xp-coating | — | LUNA Innovations XP; MISSE 9 and Shields-1 |
No fastener, insert, finish (beyond 'anodized' rails), or adhesive lists for any structure. Boom fibre and resin systems, ISISPACE/AAC Clyde Space alloy (Clyde), ML50 materials, Windform grade for RECS, and coating specifications are not given. Table 6-1 later rows have extraction problems (Spacemind 2U onward masses, Sputnik row). Per-part masses exist only for the frames in Table 6-1, Clyde Space chassis, AstroTube and the TiNi devices.
Collected from public pages and documents, checked 4 Nov 2026.
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