The performance and broader application of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are restricted by the manufacturing methods currently employed. In the current work, two methodologies are proposed to build robust plasma actuators for active flow control; a protective silicone oil (PDMS) treatment for hand-cut and laid tape-based actuators and a microfabrication technique for glass-based devices. The microfabrication process, through which thin film electrodes are precisely deposited onto plasma-resistant glass substrates, is presented in detail. The resulting glass-based devices are characterized with respect to electrical properties and output for various operating conditions. The longevity of microfabricated devices is compared against silicone-treated and untreated hand-made devices of comparable geometries over 60 hours of continuous operation. Both tungsten and copper electrodes are considered for microfabricated devices. Human health effects are also considered in an electromagnetic field study of the area surrounding a live plasma actuator for various operating conditions.

As the potential uses of nanosatellites become apparent, their numbers keep increasing. This is evident at the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) located at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies which has seen a rapid growth in satellite missions in recent years. By leveraging the use of the Generic Nanosatellite Bus developed at SFL, satellites can be rapidly developed to carry science payloads or demonstrate the capabilities of new technologies on orbit. Testing satellite systems in an Earth environment is an important step in qualifying them for space. This thesis describes the development of ground support equipment for testing SFL’s nanosatellite separation system, XPOD, and characterizing the performance of the propulsion system, CNAPS. Also, the thermal behaviour of a pressure regulator valve on CNAPS is examined for various flow conditions.

The development of a multi-mission small spacecraft power system is described. This system has been designed for the University of Toronto Space Flight Laboratory Generic Nanosatellite Bus (GNB), an approximately 20cm cubical spacecraft with no deployed solar arrays. The GNB is inherently power-generation limited, and consequently, all available power must be utilized with maximum efficiency. This efficiency is achieved using an unconventional parallel-regulated architecture with Peak Power Tracking (PPT) functionality, and is shown to be the PPT design of highest efficiency for spacecraft of this class. In support of this design, a novel spacecraft power simulation suite has been developed, enabling parametric satellite power analysis with high fidelity. Finally, a unique variation on peak power tracking---referred to as peak current tracking---is described. This method is shown to reduce battery depth-of-discharge by as much as 20% over baseline architectures, and furthermore exhibits beneficial emergent behaviour for battery charge management.

The Space Flight Lab (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) has developed an ambitious satellite program called the Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX). The newest generation of CanX missions are based on the Generic Nanosatellite Bus (GNB). This bus was designed to accommodate many missions using a single, common platform. Currently, there are three nanosatellite missions using the GNB design. These missions include AISSat-1, CanX-3 (BRITE) and CanX-4&5. This thesis describes the high level embedded software design for the on-board computer (OBC), as part of the generic nanosatellite bus. The software discussed includes the Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) Thread, Serial Communications Controller (SCC) Thread, Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) Thread, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) Thread, Communications Thread, Memory Management Thread, Power Thread, House Keeping Computer (HKC) Thread, AISSat-1 Payload Thread and the Time Tag Thread. In addition to the application threads mentioned above, the software design and validation of the On Board Computer (OBC) design for the AISSat-1 mission is also discussed.

This thesis describes, in chronological order, the design and implementation of four separate ground control applications for use of the Generic Nanosatellite Bus, a multi-purpose satellite platform developed at the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory. A direct ground control application and time-tagged remote control application are used to provide full control over a Generic Nanosatellite Bus satellite for short and long term operational and testing purposes. Similarly, a direct control application and a scheduling application are implemented for the control of the payload computer on CanX-3 BRIght-star Target Explorer, a stellar-observation satellite based on the Generic Nanosatellite Bus platform. This thesis goes into details on how the display and control interface is implemented and used, what set of actions are taken to create and interpret packets exchanged over a communications link, and what precautions are taken in the face of expected issues.

The work described in this thesis summarizes the author's contributions to the design, development, and testing of embedded systems for SFL spacecraft. The unique environment of space and the constraints it imposes on embedded systems is described, and the testing methodologies employed to qualify spacecraft hardware for this environment are presented. The implementation of an automated functional test framework for SFL's Generic Nanosatellite Bus satellites and the role it plays in the spacecraft development cycle is also discussed. Application software and device drivers in support of the BRITE mission were designed and developed. Finally, a controller was implemented for thermal control of the BRITE optical instrument. These contributions play an important role in the continual efforts to expand access to space and to prove the feasibility of the microspace approach in doing so.

The performance and broader application of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are restricted by the manufacturing methods currently employed. In the current work, two methodologies are proposed to build robust plasma actuators for active flow control; a protective silicone oil (PDMS) treatment for hand-cut and laid tape-based actuators and a microfabrication technique for glass-based devices. The microfabrication process, through which thin film electrodes are precisely deposited onto plasma-resistant glass substrates, is presented in detail. The resulting glass-based devices are characterized with respect to electrical properties and output for various operating conditions. The longevity of microfabricated devices is compared against silicone-treated and untreated hand-made devices of comparable geometries over 60 hours of continuous operation. Both tungsten and copper electrodes are considered for microfabricated devices. Human health effects are also considered in an electromagnetic field study of the area surrounding a live plasma actuator for various operating conditions.

The BRIght Target Explorer mission consists of six nanosatellites, each equipped with an instrument capable of capturing defocused images of stars suitable for milli-magnitude accuracy differential photometry. BRITE is expected to provide information about the dynamics and life cycles of bright stars. The satellites are funded in pairs by Austria, Poland and Canada and designed at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Space Flight Laboratory. The present thesis document summarizes the contribution of the author to this project. This includes unit level integration, calibration, functional testing and science acceptance testing of the two BRITE Canada payloads; high level assembly and spacecraft level testing of the BRITE Canada spacecraft; sun stare testing and ground based observations of stars with engineering model instruments; launch campaign functional testing and preparations of UniBRITE, the first BRITE satellite funded by Austria; and on-orbit operations of UniBRITE.

The BRIght Target Explorer mission consists of six nanosatellites, each equipped with an instrument capable of capturing defocused images of stars suitable for milli-magnitude accuracy differential photometry. BRITE is expected to provide information about the dynamics and life cycles of bright stars. The satellites are funded in pairs by Austria, Poland and Canada and designed at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Space Flight Laboratory. The present thesis document summarizes the contribution of the author to this project. This includes unit level integration, calibration, functional testing and science acceptance testing of the two BRITE Canada payloads; high level assembly and spacecraft level testing of the BRITE Canada spacecraft; sun stare testing and ground based observations of stars with engineering model instruments; launch campaign functional testing and preparations of UniBRITE, the first BRITE satellite funded by Austria; and on-orbit operations of UniBRITE.

This work focuses on an investigation of multi-modality in typical aerodynamic shape optimization problems and development of optimization algorithms that can find a global optimum. First, a classification of problems based on the degree of multi-modality is introduced. Then, two optimization algorithms are described that can find a global optimum in a computationally efficient manner: a gradient-based multi-start Sobol algorithm, and a hybrid optimization algorithm. Two additional algorithms are considered as well: a gradient-based optimizer and a genetic algorithm. Finally, we consider a set of typical aerodynamic shape optimization problems. In each problem, the primary objectives are to classify the problem according to the degree of multi-modality, and to select the preferred optimization algorithm for the problem. We find that typical two-dimensional airfoil shape optimization problems are unimodal. Three-dimensional shape optimization problems may contain local optima. In these problems, the gradient-based multi-start Sobol algorithm is the most efficient algorithm.