In this paper, we present the process and the results of the thermal analysis applied to a nanosatellite developed at Politecnico di Torino. First, main mission parameters and the spacecraft design are presented, in order to fix the boundary conditions and the thermal environment used for the analysis. Then, the thermal model built to solve the thermal balance problem is described into details, and the numerical simulation code is presented. Finally, results are given and discussed in depth. The tool developed provides excellent modelling capabilities and temperature distributions have been validated through commercial software. The analysis has been used to refine the spacecraft configuration and to set the requirements applicable to the thermal control system of the satellite. The results showed that a basically passive control is sufficient to maintain most spacecraft's components within their temperature range when appropriate thermal coatings and/or tapes are provided. However, heaters to warm up batteries are recommended to survive coldest condition

This paper describes the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation methodology used for the verification of functional requirements of e-st @r-I CubeSat. The satellite's behavior is investigated via HIL simulation, and the results obtained are consistent with the expected values in any operative conditions. It is proven that HIL simulation is a valuable means for supporting the verification process of small satellites and may help reduce the time and cost of the development phase and increase mission reliability.