Introduction

In order to create a visual prototype of our potential solutions and sketches, our team brainstormed ideas for a mock-up to make it easier to envision our final product's appearance. The mock-up's purpose isn't to be functional, but rather see a physical solution and start visualizing physical properties like size, material constraints, physical look, and more properties one could understand using a tangible object. We did research on the value of a mock-up, what materials to use to make one, and the differences between the final product and a mock-up.

Mock Up Iterations

The first image shows our first physical mockup iteration created on 10/16/24. Underneath the foil is a 10X10X20 cm cardboard box. The foil represents the AZ-93 coating that will envelope the CubeSat and decrease the amount of heat the CubeSat absorbs from the sun. We also marked out where the battery and processing chip were located at.

The second image is the second iteration of our physical mockup, which we updated on 10/17/24. In this mockup we included the antennae, and the two radiators (which are represented by the yellow tape squares). We also included the lens of the CubeSat, which is the yellow tape circle located on the front.

The third image is the radiator that would be mounted to the wall of the CubeSat and serve to expel the heat generated by the CubeSat's internal components via thermal radiation transfer properties into space.

Differences between mock up and current vision

The final product includes the actual material that will be used. These materials are much more expensive and harder to obtain for a highschool student due to them being space-grade. Additionally, because of our constraints, the prototype will not be able to include an actual CubeSat that heats up, rather it will consist of fish tank heaters to mimic the electronic components.

Why stakeholders might find more value in a mock-up versus a functioning prototype.

Mock-ups allow stakeholders to quickly grasp the design concept without requiring a big investment of time or money. They take much less time to create than a working prototype, which means the marketing and investment teams can get started earlier. Since mock-ups are flexible and easy to modify, they’re great for gathering feedback and incorporating new ideas as the design evolves.

Conclusion

From our research the team decided to create a mock-up of just the CubeSat so we have a physical representation of our sizing constraints, but also of one of our highest rated solutions, the rigid insulator/radiator. We held lots of discussions behind these decisions, such as determining if the sizing was feasible to create, if our sketches were realistic for our problem, and if our mock-up would provide substantial value in our design process. However, the team felt that creating a mock-up for this solution would benefit us in seeing how the solution looks from a business perspective, as stakeholders would want to see a physical prototype of what they're investing into as fast as possible, which would be solved with a mock-up. The team would also see how it looks and the size constraints, and see if this is something which would actually be reasonable to deploy.

Previous Iteration

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