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The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the integrated emission from out of our Galaxy.Its observation is crucial for revealing the history of star-formation from the early universe to the present epoch. Visible Extragalactic background RadiaTion Exploration by CubeSat (VERTECS) is a 6U astronomical satellite to observe the EBL in visible wavelength from 0.4 µm to 0.8 µm. To observe the EBL, a telescope with 11 lenses and a high-performance CMOS sensor are equipped within 3U volume. The remaining 3U comprises the bus section mainly based on the bus design previously developed at Kyushu Institute of Technology. This paper describes the design and verification processes of the structure and thermal model of the satellite to fulfill the interface and mission requirements. From a mission perspective, the precise attitude and orbit control system unit is mounted on the same interface plate as the telescope to meet stringent pointing stability requirements during observations. The purpose of the stiff design of this interface plate is to minimize structural deformation. Furthermore, integrating multiple external antennas with relatively large X-band and S-band communication units require effective routing harness management. Static stress analysis is performed under the quasistatic loading condition. In addition, modal analysis is also conducted to fulfill the strength and stiffness requirements of the launcher. A series of mechanical environmental tests (shock, random, and sinusoidal vibrations) have been conducted to verify the design and analysis results. The results showed that designed model can fundamentally withstand the launch environment.
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