The design of attitude determination and control of nanosatellites requires innovative solutions that are lowcost, small in size, and minimized power consumption. The University of Manitoba T-Sat1 project has created a simple complement of sensors and actuators that can provide stable determination and orientation. The linear region of photodiode readings was combined with magnetometer readings in a sensor-fusion attitude determination algorithm. The actuators were custom-built torque discs on printed circuit boards that proved easy to mount and generate fields 25 nT that are sufficient to orient the satellite while in orbit. The torque disc manufacturing process is described with details on the imperfections and lessons learned from the prototypes. This paper describes the hardware and software design and implementation for the attitude determination and control of the T-Sat1 nanosatellite.Index Terms-Attitude determination and control, nano-satellites, B-dot algorithm, sensor fusion algorithm, magnetic torque discs.

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The inaugural Canadian Satellite Design Challenge provided many experiential learning opportunities for students through the design, implementation, and testing of the T-Sat1 nanosatellite.The University of Manitoba team elected to build all components from the ground up in order to develop many technical and non-technical skills that complement the classroom experience.The first phases of the project focused on the definition of requirements, specifications, and interfaces. Then, the team began prototyping, implementing, and integrating subsystems. Finally, the spacecraft was tested at the Canadian Space Agency laboratories in Ottawa and obtained second place overall in the competition.This paper describes some of the major lessons from the implementation, integration, and testing phases of the project. In addition, some insight is provided as to the ongoing changes for the second iteration of the competition that aim at improving the experience and performance of the satellite.