Electronic design schematic and explaination
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
During lift off our solar panels are held, under tension, close to the body of our satellite by a piece of kevlar string. When the string is cut the solar panels will spring into position and deploy.
To cut kevlar string a “thermal knife” is commonly used, this requires an amount of current to be passed through a short piece of Nichrome wire to heat it that will in turn melt through the kevlar string and cut it.
To cut kevlar string a “thermal knife” is commonly used, this requires an amount of current to be passed through a short piece of Nichrome wire to heat it that will in turn melt through the kevlar string and cut it.