NASA Near-Space Satellite EE 486C Jad Lutfi Rob Hough Rob Conant Andrew Prosory Andrew Prosory

Our Project Sponsor & Faculty Advisor Dr. Barry Lutz NAU/NASA Space Grant Program Director Kathleen Stigmon NAU/NASA Space Grant Administrative Assistant Faculty Technical Advisor Dr. Niranjan Venkatraman NAU Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Andrew Prosory

Presentation Overview Project Overview Design Results Budget Lessons Learned Recommendations Andrew Prosory

Problem Statement The NAU/NASA Space Grant Administration has requested the design, launch, and retrieval of a small payload on a high-altitude weather balloon. The payload satellite will be designed to: Capture Digital Images over 3 hour period Transmit GPS (Global Positioning System) Location wirelessly during flight Measure: Pressure Internal Temperature G-Force Load On Package Andrew Prosory

System Conceptual Diagram (Source: Montana Space Grant Consortium) Andrew Prosory

Project Benefits & Applications Lots of high quality images Payload Tracking Discover G-Force Load on payload (Source: Medgar Evers College) Andrew Prosory

Overall Design Project broken up into four major subsystems Sensors Wireless GPS Telemetry Payload Package Digital Imaging Jad Lutfi

Sensor Subsystem 4 Channel Data Logger 9V Supply G-Force Sensor Logs: Temperature, Pressure Vertical/Horizontal Peak Accelerations Rob Hough Jad Lutfi 8

Wireless GPS Telemetry Subsystem Subsystem broken up into two parts Onboard Satellite Telemetry Transmit Payload location Ground Station Telemetry Receives and Maps Payload location Jad Lutfi

Onboard Satellite Telemetry Radio Transmitter GPS Receiver Encoder 9V Supply Rob Hough Jad Lutfi 10

Global Positioning System Garmin® GPS 35 TracPak Tracks above 60,000 ft Weighs .275 pounds Operation Temperature -30°C to 85°C (Source: Garmin) Jad Lutfi

Data Encoder: TinyTrak3+ Data Rate: 1200 bps, 300 bps Power: 7-35 Volts DC Weight: 0.2 lb Operating Mode: Modem (Source: Byonics) Jad Lutfi

Radio Transmitter Design Tradeoffs Yeasu Kenwood Weight: 132 Grams 340 Grams Case Size: 1.9 x 3.2 x 0.9 inches 2.25 x 4.75 x 1.5 inches Transmit Power Usage 4.8 Amp-Hours 12.8 Amp-Hours RF Power Output: 1.5 W (internal power @ 144MHz) 5 W (internal power @ 144MHz) Jad Lutfi

On Board Antenna ¼ Wave Ground Plane Antenna Frequency: 144 MHZ Dimensions: A: 19-5/16 inches B&C/D&E: 20-3/16 inches Weight: 0.75 lb Jad Lutfi

Ground Station Telemetry Receiver Antenna Mapping Laptop Tri-Band Receiver Decoder Rob Hough Jad Lutfi 15

Payload Package Subsystem 6.5” x 6.5” x 6.5” cube Package Constructed with: Mat Board Polyethylene foam Spray foam Jad Lutfi

Digital Imaging Subsystem Casio EX-Z50 5 Mega Pixels 4 Hour Battery Life Capable of taking 880 pictures (2 Gig Memory Card) Weighs only .33 lbs 555 timer/actuator takes pictures every 15 seconds (Source: Casio) (Source: Hobby Shop Center) Jad Lutfi

Testing Digital Imaging Subsystem Tests Wireless GPS Telemetry Freezer Test with no Insulation Turned off after 66 minutes at a temperature below 0° Celsius Endurance Test at Room Temperature Memory card failure at 115 minutes Wireless GPS Telemetry Tracked Package Payload Package Freezer Test Rob Hough

Requirements vs. Results Specification Achieved Size of the container 12’’ x 12’’ x 12’’ 6.5’’ x 6.5’’ x 6.5’’ Weight of the container 2-3 pounds 2.9 pounds Op./Sensor Range Down to -40° F Not Available Battery Life 3 Hours 4+ hours Pressure Range 0-1 Bar Images/Minute 1 2-4 Image Resolution 3 MP 5 MP Budget $2400 $1900 Image Storage >180 Images 458 Ready-By Date April 29 (May 13th) April 22 Altitude Range 0-100,000’ 0-Technical limits(>100k’) Data Correlation >10 mins >1 second Rob Hough

Results Balloon Launch Cancelled Balloon broke free Tested entire system on drive back to Flagstaff Rob Hough

Digital Camera Expected Vs Actual Results Expected Image Drive Home after Cancelled Launch Digital Camera took 458 pictures over 2 hour period Camera error at 1Gb of data Rob Hough

GPS Telemetry Results South Phoenix Driving Rob Hough

Results from Sensors Rob Hough

Horizontal Acceleration Data Rob Hough

Delivering to Client Future Launch Images and Data Foundation for Future Teams to build on Time Triggered Digital Camera Wireless Tracking System G Force Measuring Sensor Improved Thermal Capabilities Future Launch Images and Data Rob Conant

Budget Allocated: $2,400 Budget Spent: $1,860.30 Remaining Budget: $539.70 Rob Conant

Budget Subsystems Expense Amount Imaging $491.87 Sensors $506.98 Wireless $732.16 Package $17.66 Batteries $55.73 Misc. $55.90 Total $1,860.30 Rob Conant

Fall Project Phases Requirements and Research Design Proposal Met with Sponsor Developed Specific Project Requirements For Each Subsystem – Imaging, Sensors, Packaging, Tracking Investigated Partial Solutions Design Proposal Researched Specific Solution Built Simple Payload - Practiced Launch Verified of Design with Sponsor Rob Conant

Spring Project Phases Detailed Design: Integration and Testing: Determined Specific Subsystem Specifications Added Wireless Transmission Requirements Delivered Schematics and Circuit Diagrams Ordered Subsystem Parts Created Webpage Integration and Testing: Modified Detailed Designs Built Second Satellite Package Completed Each Subsystem Attended Launch Will Retry Launch Rob Conant

Time Spent in Weeks (40 hour blocks) Time Required Project Area Time Spent in Weeks (40 hour blocks) Research and Requirements: 3.2 Design Proposal: 4.2 Detailed Design: 4.4 Integration and Testing: 6.4 Total 40 hour Weeks 18.2 Rob Conant

Knowledge Gained Design Process Details Personal Time Management Team Delegation Technical Digital Imaging Modifying Cameras Telemetry Systems Antennas Encoding & Decoding data Accelerometer Customization Peak Detection I/O Voltage Scaling Rob Conant

Recommendations for Future Work Transmit Camera Images During Flight Payload Package Easier to Seal and Reopen Easier to Turn On Power Antenna Weight Lighter Materials Shorter Antenna 70cm (420-450MHz) Amateur Radio Rob Conant

Questions/Comments Poster Session Project Webpage Launch Movie When: Friday at 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Where: Du Bois Center, 2nd Floor Project Webpage http://www.cet.nau.edu/Academic/Design/D4P/EGR486/EE/05-Projects/NASA/index.htm# Launch Movie