During satellite development, engineers need to simulate and understand the satellite’s behavior in orbit and minimize failures or inadequate satellite operation. In this sense, one crucial assessment is the irradiance field, which impacts, for example, the power generation through the photovoltaic cells, as well as rules the satellite’s thermal conditions. This good practice is also valid for CubeSat projects. This paper presents a numerical tool to explore typical irradiation scenarios for CubeSat missions by combining state-of-the-art models. Such a tool can provide the input estimation for software and hardware in the loop analysis for a given initial condition and predict it along with the satellite’s lifespan. Three main models will be considered to estimate the irradiation flux over a CubeSat, namely an orbit, an attitude, and a radiation source model, including solar, albedo, and infrared emitted by the Earth. A case study illustrating the tool’s abilities is presented for a typical CubeSats’ two-line element set (TLE) and five attitudes. Finally, a possible application of the tool as an input to a CubeSat task-scheduling is introduced. The results show that the complete model’s use has considerable differences from the simplified models sometimes used in the literature.

This work presents an integrated thermal-electrical simulation model, capable of taking into account the thermal and electrical effects of the battery and photovoltaic panels for each instant of time in a given orbit and attitude. Using the physical equations that govern the thermal and electrical models involved during a CubeSat operation, the proposed integrated model can estimate the temperature and energy conditions of the battery, not only in an isolated way but also in considering the mutual effects on the system. Besides, special attention is given to photovoltaic panels used in the energy harvesting process, whose performance is affected by irradiance and temperature along the orbit. The integrated model can be useful for engineers when developing the subsystems of their CubeSats, taking into account, for example, the battery temperature control through a heater. Simulations were performed to illustrate the functioning of the proposed model with variations in the power requirements of its modules and the temperature of the battery throughout the orbit, and a heater’s influence on it.