University of Arkansas CSCE Department Capstone I Preliminary Proposal Fall Project Jupiter

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1 Abstract University of Arkansas CSCE Department Capstone I Preliminary Proposal Fall 2015 Project Jupiter Ben Walcutt, Connor Nesbitt, Emmett Casey, Brian Jones To create an atmospheric testing sounding rocket with a Raspberry Pi as the microprocessor installed onboard the rocket for data collection and relay. Ideally, the project will demonstrate the use of small form-factor computing devices as workhorses for scientific experiments requiring lightweight rockets. 1.0 Problem The advancement of science requires the gathering of data. The harder it is to collect this data, the higher the barrier to entry for studying and learning. There is no well-known plug-and-play method for gathering data from the lower atmosphere near ground level (around ~1500 feet). There needs to be a delivery method for sending data gathering instruments into the atmosphere that provides data both quickly (or instantaneously) and allows the recovering of the instruments and hardware. Currently, not having a universal delivery system limits scientific progress as each individual project must design their own delivery system. These systems are not generally the focus of the study and thus are not the focus of any published work. Since the rocket design isn t well shared, any other group wishing to do their own study must start designing their own delivery system from scratch. (Emmett Casey) 2.0 Objective The objective of this project is to build a recoverable rocket that can send data gathering instruments into the lower atmosphere. Ideally, this rocket will also be able to wirelessly transmit data gathered back to the ground team in real time. The rocket will be easily recoverable. (Emmett Casey) 1

2 3.0 Background 3.1 Key Concepts The rocket will be launched from a static stand in an isolated field with a designated safety zone. Communications with the rocket will be maintained at all times through various devices installed on the rocket and a receiver installed on the base station, also located on the range within a safe distance from the stand. The installed sensors will be able to broadcast data to the base station quickly for analysis on the ground, which differs from most previous experiments which tend to retain the data on the rocket for post-recovery analysis. The project will also have cameras installed to broadcast launches over the internet for remote viewers to observe. 3.2 Related Work As far as the project s authors know, there are no other experiments involving the use of a Raspberry Pi as the processor installed on a sounding rocket with atmospheric testing sensors. And few, if any, involve the use of live streaming cameras over the internet to remote viewers. 4.0 Design 4.1 Requirements and Use Cases The main requirements to Project Jupiter center on its intended use as a sounding rocket. The requirements for the project are as follows: The rocket should be lightweight (final maximum weight to be determined after more testing with propulsion system) The launch system, rocket, and base station should be portable and deployable under most conditions The data and video should be streamed back to the base station in real time for instant analysis The payload and recovery system should be able to be reset and reused immediately after recovery, given that a new propulsion system is ready to be used The data should be stored after being analyzed at the base station and the instrumentation reset for next use Use cases for the project are as follows: Project team should be able to launch rocket into multiple weather conditions in order to record a variety of atmospheric measurements Project team should be able to quickly turnaround rocket for reuse to gather similar data in current weather conditions Observers should be able to view data and video remotely through the internet 2

3 4.2 High Level Architecture The rocket will be designed in three stages: solid rocket motor, payload, and recovery system. The solid rocket motor will consist of commercially available materials found in hobby shops. Figure 1 is an example of the motors that will be used. Figure 1 E class solid rocket motor [1] The body of the rocket will be built using cardboard tubes to maintain a lightweight profile. The diameter of the rocket is yet to be determined, pending further testing of the placement of the sensor array in the payload section of the rocket. The payload bay will consist of a lightweight cardboard fairing surrounding a plastic mount attached to the center mass of the structure to which the sensor array and computers will be mounted. The power supply will ultimately be responsible for the bulk of the weight of the payload and will mounted as close to center mass as possible. The system will be controlled mainly through a Raspberry Pi 2 which is shown in figure 2. Figure 2 Raspberry Pi 2 [2] The sensor array will be supported by an Arduino board shown in figure 3. The sensors to be installed on the rocket are: Temperature and humidity Barometric pressure and altitude 3-axis accelerometer Global Positioning System (GPS) Camera 3

4 Figure 3 Arduino Uno Rev 3 [3] The power supply will be a small form-factor battery, and data and video will be broadcast in real time to the base station with a transmitter system that will be determined in the future after testing and comparisons. The recovery system will consist of a commercially available parachute system sold in conjunction with the solid rocket motor. The base station will be a small portable laptop suitable for field use that will run Linux and serve as a web server for the live stream of data and video to the remote observers. The communications systems will be compatible with the transmitter system on the rocket that has yet to be determined. 4.3 Risks Risk Fire caused by catastrophic failure of solid rocket motor Fire caused by falling debris from launch and flight of rocket Injuries sustained by crew/observers on ground from falling debris/payload Interference with local communications systems Risk Reduction Purchasing commercially available motors that have been tested and approved for private use Having fire suppression systems in place around launch site easily accessible by all team members Designated range safety officer (RSO) with authority to abort launch at any time Launch sites to be approved by local authorities to ensure safety of residents Range to be designated with safety zone no less than 0.5 mile in radius from launch site Designated RSO with authority to abort launch at any time in regards to safety zone violation Using commercially available transceivers for communications to/from rocket with FCC approved 4

5 Data loss frequencies Frequent offsite backups including software code stored in GitHub repository and data backed up to external drives 4.4 Tasks/Schedule Initial design and specifications: September November 2015 Preliminary Proposal: October 2015 Component specs and determination: November December 2015 Final Proposal: December 2015 Obtaining components: January 2016 Payload construction: January February 2016 Software design: January February 2016 Static communication testing: February 2016 Motor and recovery system testing: February 2016 First launch(s) (no internet streaming): March 2016 Data analysis and system refactoring (if necessary): March 2016 First internet streaming launch: April 2016 Continued data analysis: April 2016 Final report: April May 2016 Documentation: Various throughout project 4.5 Deliverables Requirements and specifications: A list of requirements specified by the initial concept of the project Implementation diagram: Blueprint diagrams of the implementation design and system components Database schema: MongoDB database designed with NoSQL and document style design Software code: C++ code for the internal components of the system, Java code for base station software Final Report (Brian Jones) 5

6 5.0 Key Personnel Benjamin Walcutt Walcutt is a senior Computer Science major in the Computer Science/Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He has completed several relevant courses including numerous programming classes of various languages, hardware design, database management, and data analytics. He has experience with large data processing using various scripting languages. He will be responsible for overall design and implementation of the system s components and project performance. Connor Nesbitt Nesbitt is a senior Computer Engineering major in the Computer Science/Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He has taken several relevant courses including hardware design and optimization classes, programming classes, and embedded systems programming. He will be responsible for overall hardware implementation of the system. Emmett Casey Casey is a senior Computer Science major in the Computer Science/Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He has taken several relevant courses including problem solving courses, hardware design, and database management. He will be responsible for the software implementation of the various components. Brian Jones Jones is a senior Computer Engineering major at the Computer Science/Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He has taken several relevant courses including hardware design and implementation, embedded systems, and several programming classes. He will be responsible for hardware implementation of the numerous sensors and communication devices. 6.0 Facilities and Equipment In this project, the facilities that will be used for the launch of the rocket is still undetermined. There has been no known location around the area that would not interfere with Air Traffic Control communications along with interfering with cellular towers. The best general location to shoot the rocket for testing would be somewhere outside campus around E Robinson Avenue or AR 74. The equipment that will be required and utilized for this project will be a Raspberry Pi or Arduino board that will process the commands given from the base station and will send the coordinates, the velocity, and the atmospheric pressure of the rocket. From there a sounding rocket will be acquired such as the Taser Twin Flying Model Rocket which can get up to a projected 2000 feet without modifications [4]. 500 feet beyond our targeted goal. A thermometer will be used to check the how cold the rocket is. This will tell the temperature at certain altitudes. An Altimeter will be used to check the how high the rocket climbed in its launch. Which will show, based on the amount of kilometers it climbed, if the need to add more or less engines is required. The Altimeter can also be used to check the acceleration of the rocket if minor guidance changes is needed. A Barometer will be used to get the appropriate atmospheric pressure from the rocket. Ideally, a device or program similar to the BMP180 Barometric Pressure/Temperature/Altitude Sensor can be created or used for this project [5]. Cameras will be used to video the total experience of the rocket flight. For Arduino, using a motion JPEG camera while for a Raspberry Pi, a USB Web camera can be used. GPS Tracking will be used to give the current coordinates of the rocket during flight. A transceiver, through cellular data, will be the 6

7 thing that sends data back from the rocket to the base station and vice versa. For Arduino, something similar to an Arduino GSM Shield can be used to achieve this [6]. For Raspberry Pi, a device similar to the Huawei E173 Unlocked HSDPA 7.2Mbps GSM 3G USB Modem can be used [7]. LEDs will be used to show off where the parts of the rocket are after landing. (Connor Nesbitt) 7.0 References [1] Apogee Rockets, Aerotech_29mm_EconoJet_Motor_F20W-7 [2] Raspberry Pi, [3] Arduino Uno, [4] Taser Twin Flying Model Rocket: Hobbies/Hobbies-%26-Collecting/Rockets/Taser-Twin-Flying-Model-Rocket-Kit/p/ KO0154 [5] BMP180 Barometric Pressure/Temperature/Altitude Sensor: [6] Arduino GSM Shield: [7] Huawei E173 Unlocked HSDPA 7.2Mbps GSM 3G USB Modem: 7