2013 CoDR

WVU Rocketeers 2013 Conceptual Design Review

West Virginia University Alex Bouvy, Ben Kryger, Marc Gramlich

Advisors: Dimitris Vassiliadis, Marcus Fisher 10-19-13

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2013 CoDR

CoDR Presentation Content

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•  Section 1: Mission Overview –  Mission Statement –  Theory and Concepts –  Mission Requirements –  Concept of Operations –  Expected Results

•  Section 2: Design Overview –  Design Overview –  Functional Block Diagrams –  Payload Layout –  RockSat-X User’s Guide Compliance –  Shared Deck Space (if applicable)

2013 CoDR

CoDR Presentation Contents

• Section 3: Management – Team Organization – Schedule – Budget – Mentors (Faculty, industry)

• Section 4: Conclusions

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2013 CoDR

Mission Overview: Mission Statement

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•  Mission statement: Develop a payload which will measure the following properties of the space environment (up to 160 km) during the RockSat-X flight.

–  Plasma density/frequency –  Magnetic field –  Flight dynamics –  Magnetic effects on ferrofluids in microgravity –  Eject a standalone picosatellite. The satellite will house a very basic

payload consisting of IMU and magnetometer, as well as a transceiver to transmit data back to earth.

•  Goal: To measure and analyze data from the flight, and compare the results

to known atmospheric models. Track the ejected picosatellite to obtain measurements as it descends to earth.

2013 CoDR

Mission Overview: Theory and Concepts

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•  Plasma conditions continuously change in the ionosphere with altitude and time of day. At these given times, the plasma fields resonate at different frequencies. The experiment will compare the instantaneous plasma density and frequency distribution to current atmospheric models.

•  Earth’s magnetic field decreases as a function of distance from the center of the earth. The magnetic field reflects and traps many charged particles. Measuring field intensity can yield information required to accurately model this phenomena.

•  Comparison between these measurements and current models will show

if assumptions made in these models hold up to an extent that they can be accurately used in future atmospheric applications.

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Mission Overview: Payload Experiments

1. Flight Dynamics (FD): identify the dynamics of rocket flight with on-board instrumentation -  Acceleration -  Rotation

2. Radio Plasma Experiment (RPE): -  Consists of 3 subsystems:

-  Langmuir Probe: Measures the density of the plasma. Continuously sweeps voltage to generate I-V curves at different altitudes, from which plasma density can be derived.

-  GHz/MHz Antennas: Measures plasma frequency (~1.6 MHz, simple function of density) and harmonics.

-  Magnetometer: Measures the magnitude of the magnetic field of the earth.

2013 CoDR

3. Picosatellite Ejection (PSE): eject a picosatellite to produce a decaying low-earth orbit from which the following measurements can be made and transmitted to earth: -  Health status of solar panels/battery -  XYZ-Rotation -  Low resolution magnetometer reading -  High resolution magnetometer reading

4. Ferrofluid Stabilization (FFE): Reduce liquid sloshing and movement unpredictability by applying an electromagnetic field.

–  Conform ferrofluid to a certain area within a sealed container. –  Reduce movement and sloshing within the container. –  Minimize vibration, orientation, and centrifugal effects on the liquid imposed

by rocket flight

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Mission Overview: Payload Experiments

2013 CoDR

Mission Requirements:

1.  The payload shall conform to the requirements set forth in the RockSat-X User Guide

2.  The system shall measure the density of the electric field of a low-energy plasma throughout the flight at a specified rate.

3.  The system shall measure data from each and every inertial sensor throughout the flight at a specified rate.

4.  The system shall observe the effects of ferrofluids in the presence of an electromagnet intermittently throughout flight.

5.  The system shall transmit acquired data through WFF-provided telemetry.

6.  The payload shall effectively eject a picosatellite to produce a decaying low-earth orbit, from which telemetry data is received.

7.  The system should save high resolution data on a hard disk for data assurance and system redundancy.

8 crestock.com

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h=0 km (T=0) Launch; G-switch

activation. All systems on, begin data

acquisition

h=52 km (T=.6 min) End of Orion Burn

h=160 km (T=2.8 min) Apogee Nose Cone Separation Picosatellite Ejected

h=10.5 km (T=5.5 min) Chute deploys

h=0 km (T=15 min) Splashdown

RockSat-X 2013: Concept of Operations

h=10.5 km (T=5.78 min) Experiments Power Off

2013 CoDR

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Mission Overview: Expected Results: Plasma

•  Expect at least one or two peaks: –  Plasma frequency –  Gyrofrequency –  Other frequencies possible (upper-hybrid frequency)

•  Gyrofrequency varies little with altitude, plasma frequency significantly:

0.00E+00

5.00E+05

1.00E+06

1.50E+06

2.00E+06

2.50E+06

3.00E+06

3.50E+06

4.00E+06

4.50E+06

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Freq

uenc

y (H

z)

Altitude (km)

Frequency Variability

f_ce (Hz)

f_pe (Hz)

f_uh (Hz)

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•  The observed magnetic field is expected to decay following an inverse cube law as a function of distance from the Earth.

•  Note: Earth’s magnetosphere is dynamic and should not be overgeneralized by an inverse cube law. However, considering an expected altitude maximum of 160 km, standard dipole magnetism models are expected.

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Mission Overview: Expected Results: Magnetic Field

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Mission Overview: Expected Results: Ferrofluid

•  Under the influence of a strong magnetic field, it is expected that the magnetic fluid remain oriented towards the electromagnet throughout the duration of the flight.

•  Fluid sloshing should be reduced in comparison to the non-magnetic control fluid.

•  The control fluid is expected to move freely in it’s container.

•  Under parachute, the control fluid should respond solely to gravity’s pull, whereas the ferrofluid is expected to remain mostly oriented toward the magnet.

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Design Overview

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•  For most experiments (Flight Dynamics, Radio Plasma, Langmuir Probe) heritage elements from previous WVU RockSat-C flights will be integrated into this year’s design.

•  These experiments will go largely unchanged.

•  The remaining ferrofluid experiment will be implemented from scratch.

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Functional Block Diagram Picosatellite  Ejection  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uController  System  

 

Langmuir  Experiment  

 

 

 

 

Flight  Dynamics  

 

 

 

 

Radio  Plasma  Experiment  

 

 

 

 

 

Wallops  Power  &  Telemetry  lines  

 

GSE-­‐1  

GSE-­‐2  

TE-­‐R  

TE-­‐NR1  

TE-­‐NR2  

TE-­‐NR3  

Parallel  Bits  1-­‐8  

 

Power  Block  

Langmuir  Board  

IMU  

Z-­‐Accelerometer  

Magnetometer  

uController  

Ejection  Cylinder  

Langmuir  Probe  

SD  Card  Power  

Distribution  

LEGEND  Power:    Red  

Digital  Signal:  Gold  

Analog  Signal:  Olive  

Parallel  Bits:  Lavendar  

RPE  Board  

Antenna  

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FBD – Mechanical Diagram (rough)

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Power

LP

RPE

FD

FFE

RPE LPE

Makrolon Layer 1 (PCBs)

Makrolon Layer 2 (Exp. Apparatus)

PSE uC

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Design Overview: Shared Can Logistics

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•  Tentative plans have recently been made to share deckspace with Johns Hopkins University.

•  Hopkins plans to discover electron density using a duel frequency GPS and observe effects on an aerogel container.

•  Communication will consist of team e-mails, phone calls, and occasional in-person meetings.

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Management

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•  Team Organization Chart

Name Role

Alex  Bouvy

PM/  Payload  design/development

Ben  Kryger

Social  outreach/  Payload  design/development

Marc  Gramlich

Payload  design/development

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Management

• Team Mentors – Dr. Dimitris Vassiliadis

• Physics Department Faculty • Plasma Physics Research • Team Advisor/Lecturer

– Dr. Marcus Fisher • Engineering Department Faculty • Picosatellite Logistics • Team Advisor 18

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Conclusion

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•  Mission statement: Develop a payload which will measure the following properties of the space environment (up to 160 km) during the RockSat X flight. –  Low-energy (plasma) density –  Magnetic field –  Flight dynamics –  Magnetic effects on ferrofluids in microgravity and flight –  Eject a standalone picosatellite. The satellite will house a

basic payload consisting of IMU and magnetometer, as well as a transceiver to transmit data back to earth.

2013 CoDR

•  Concerns: –  Nose ejection/picosatellite ejection timing –  Telemetry interference on 435 MHz band –  Magnetic interference from FFE

•  From here: Begin to model subsystems.

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Questions?

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