Conceptual Design Review Cajun Probe Conceptual Design Review University of Louisiana at Lafayette Mark Roberts 10.16.2009

Table of Contents Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Canister Compliance Shared Logistic Plan Management Team Timeline

Mission Overview Objectives Design and implement a robust, compact payload to latter be integrated into a probe. Develop improved Geiger Counter circuit. Testing of payload’s durability and performance under space conditions. Obtain and analyze data for a baseline of future experiments.

Expanding on RockOn 2008 GPS More Temperature Sensors Larger Memory Improved Geiger Counter Circuit AVR Board (RockOn 2008) Previous experiments have proven inconclusive with Geiger Counter circuit. Therefore, a more robust circuit and improved Geiger-Muller tube is necessary. Mission Overview Narrative

Experiment Expectations Cosmic Radiation ULL expects to quantify the cosmic radiation and analyze it’s relation to temperature(s) and pressure. Further Development of Probe Again, this phase of the project is just a step towards ULL’s ultimate goal which is to develop a extremely robust probe to be launched into thunderstorms. Finally have an Improved Geiger Counter Circuit that is robust enough to operate efficiently and properly in harsh environments. Mission Overview Narrative Expectations

Cosmic Rays (CRs) Discovered by Victor Hess in 1912 Electrically charged particles that bombard Earth where the flux of the CRs will be different at different latitudes & altitudes. Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays CRs led to the discovery of the first muon and pion, however the main focus of cosmic ray research is where they originate and how they are accelerated to such high velocities—their role in the dynamics of the Galaxy. It is believed that CRs originate from outside our galaxy from active galactic nuclei, quasars, or gamma ray bursts. Another belief is that galactic CR’s derive their energy from supernova explosions and evidence exists to suggest that CR’s are accelerated as the shock waves from these explosions, traveling through interstellar gas where the energy contributed to the Galaxy by the CRs is about that contained in galactic magnetic fields and in the thermal energy of the gas that it passes through.

When high energy cosmic rays collide with the atoms in Earth’s atmosphere a shower of secondary particles are produced, correspondingly the frequency of particles reaching Earth’s surface is directly related to the energy of the cosmic ray(s) which can be measured with a Geiger counter. Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays

Related Research Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays

T-MAT H°600 film showing cosmic ray tracks Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research High Energy Particles (E > 250 MeV) Low Energy Particles (E ≤ 250 MeV) Measured fluence of high & low energy protons & electrons OSL Badges

Mission Requirements Requirement Method Status RBF Pin Design/Test GO Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Requirement Method Status RBF Pin Design/Test GO Volume Constraints   Weight Constraints Shock Constraints Thermodynamic Protection Electronic Noise Protection Mission Objectives

Success & Benefits Success for this mission is dependent on the performance of the Geiger counter. That is, an accurate measure of the total flux of the cosmic rays with respect to altitude. Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Comparison of data and efficiency with previous cosmic ray measurements made with film and OSL badges. UL Lafayette having an optimized Geiger circuit that will be integrated into future experiments and into our own High Power Rockets. The optimized Geiger circuit will be developed into a kit and function as an introduction to Balloon & Sounding Rocket payloads to undergraduates and possibly used as an outreach program as well.

Functional Block Diagram Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design

Geiger Counter Circuit Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Tube Specifications Gas Filling Ne + Halogen Cathode Material 446 Stainless Max Length (inch) 7 Max Diameter (inch) 1.5 Connector BNC Operating Temp (°C) -40 Areal Density (mG/cm2) 1.5-2.0 Effective Diameter (inch) 1.13 Material Mica Operating Voltage (Volts) 500 Gamma Sensitivity Co60 (CPS/MR/HR) 100 Weights (grams) 200 Geiger-Muller Tube

Schematic of RockOn 2008 AVR Board Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design

External port for atmospheric measurements GPS Trimble Lassen iQ module Temperature Sensor Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design External port for atmospheric measurements

Comparison of data and efficiency with previous cosmic ray Expected Results Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Relevance Comparison of data and efficiency with previous cosmic ray measurements made with film and OSL badges. UL Lafayette having an optimized Geiger circuit will be integrated into a sub-system of a Probe that will be launch over and into thunderstorms in hopes to see if Thunderstorms emit gamma radiation and For the probe to collect vertical slices of the thunderstorm so it can be properly modeled and analyzed in hopes to further understand this phenomena and to reduce error in modeling.

RBF Pin has been shorted. Canister Compliance Type of Restriction Restriction Status Mass Allotment ≈ 2 Kg   Volume allotment  1/3 Payload's center of gravity 1''x 1''x 1'' envelope Wallops No-Volt Compliance Structure Mounts Sharing Yes Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Canister Compliance Payload will only activate if and only if the following conditions have been satisfied: RBF Pin has been shorted. A vertical acceleration has engaged the G-switch for a finite amount of time. Only at this time will the payload become active and consume current.

Payload consists of a vibration isolation (damping) mechanism. Logistics of Shared Canister UL Lafayette Mass Allotment ≈ 2 Kg Port requested Volume allotment 1/3 West Virginia University ? 1/5 Temple University Mass allotment Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Canister Compliance Logistics of Shared Canister UL Lafayette Expansion of RockOn 2008 with improved Geiger Counter, GPS, and other modifications. West Virginia Multi-Instrumental payload measuring Ionosphere density, the magnetic field, and ambient temperature. Temple Payload consists of a vibration isolation (damping) mechanism.

Team Management Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Andy Hollerman superivsor Mark Roberts Graduate Student Compact Payload Design Build Integrate Test Programming Implementation Documentation Presentations Team Management Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Canister Compliance Logistics of Shared Canister Management

Timeline for project completion Mission Overview Narrative Expectations Cosmic Rays Related Research Mission Requirements Success & Benefits Design Expected Results Canister Compliance Logistics of Shared Canister Management