The Radio Flyer (Radio Reception and Solar Power Experimental Satellite) Response to Request #RFP 2500F03

Transcription

1 The Radio Flyer (Radio Reception and Solar Power Experimental Satellite) Response to Request #RFP 2500F03 Produced for the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, University of Colorado at Boulder, the Department of Aerospace Engineering and the Edge of Space Sciences Produced By Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6) Challon Winer, Valerie Slasor, Hwapyong Ko, Kris Hodges, Chris Maytag, and Brian Creber Associated with the ASEN/ASTR 2500 Gateway to Space Course October 8, Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

2 Overview and Mission Statement The mission of the Radio Flyers Engineering firm is to research and develop the technologies associated with receiving and broadcasting all forms of information from the edge of space and beyond. In our endeavor is to improve satellite information transfer and quality and we wish to gain the experience associated with our challenges. The Radio Flyers plan to build and send balloon satellite that will travel to the edge of space, hopefully above 30 kilometers. The satellite will be performing various experiments during its flight. The satellite will be recording external temperature, ascent and decent rates, pressure and voltage changes from 4 solar panels. Furthermore, the satellite will be receiving an 1190 AM broadcast, and recording that broadcast digitally to examine the strength of the broadcast reception. The Radio Flyers plans to perform these experiments because we are interested in radio broadcasts from space and in information transfer in general. Also we are interested in the change in the power received from the sun as we go higher into the atmosphere. These experiments will give us the experience we are looking for and prepare us for other team projects in our education and careers. With the results of our experiments we plan to discover the effects of high altitude conditions on the quality of radio broadcasts. There are many potential complications involved with high altitude radio broadcasts. We wish to discover how these possible complications affect the receiving of radio signals, as well as the recording of the signal. Also a question that drives us is how much brighter appears our sun once we start to get higher in the atmosphere? Technical Overview The balloonsat will be have a volume of no more than 1000 cubic centimeters, and will weigh less than 500 grams. It will be constructed of a foam-core structure with an aluminum external structure to add strength. A plate of aluminum panel about 3mm thick will cover outside of box, and the foam-core will be located on the inside of the box to protect the internal circuits and components. The HOBO data logger, a.m. radio receiver, recorder, cameras, and power supply will be attached to the inside walls and the bottom of the satellite for stability. Electric heating pads will be fitted onto the internal surfaces of the satellite to maintain an acceptable internal temperature above 0 Celsius. An aluminum rod or other sturdy metal rod 2 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

3 will be placed through center of the balloonsat to contain and direct the balloon string passing through and to connect the satellite to the string. A long-lasting nine-volt battery will provide power to run everything excluding the radio, recorder, timing circuit, and the cameras. These components will be discussed in the following paragraphs. There are currently two possible plans to image the balloon in flight as well as the earth below. First, using only one camera, build a reflecting mirror to split the image so that half images up toward the balloon and the other half images down toward the earth on one frame. The second method uses two separate cameras, where one will be imaging the balloon and the other will image the earth on separate film or memory. The decision will be made after test images have been received, and available weight has been determined. This gives more flexibility in the construction and components used in the other parts of the satellite. Regardless of the camera set-up, the cameras will take pictures on a certain time interval, so that the pictures can be received throughout the flight. In our Satellite we will use a HOBO Data logger. This Data logger has the Capacity to take 7943 measurements total. It also has a User selectable sampling interval of 0.5 seconds to 9 hours, and recording times of up to 1 year. This Data logger will record external temperature and humidity, with attachments for it to sense pressure and voltage from photovoltaic cells. The HOBO will also be used to record the data during the flight. The HOBO is very small in size measuring only 68x48x19mm and weighing in at 29 grams. The HOBO data logger will measure temperature and humidity from an external data collecting cable, and the recorder will operate the entire flight. In order to study the intensity of sunlight with respect to altitude during ascent and descent, we will employ an array of photovoltaic (PV) panels, placed on each side of the satellite connected to a DC voltmeter and attached to a HOBO Data Logger. By using panels on each side of the enclosure it is hoped that the varying voltage levels with respect to solar azimuth angle will become averaged, and that an accurate picture of solar intensity with respect to altitude will be obtained. The materials necessary for this component of the BalloonSat are a DC voltmeter attachment for the HOBO Data Logger (as detailed elsewhere in this document) and four (4) separate photovoltaic panels. The audio feed to the audio recorder will come from an onboard AM radio tuned to 1190 AM, the University of Colorado s radio station KVCU. The unit we will use is a small AM radio 3 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

4 receiver mounted on a circuit board (4.0"L x 1.3"W x 0.5"H) with a ferrite induction coil antenna. Audio is provided as 8-ohm speaker-level output. The unit requires 9-volt power, which will be provided by on on-board 9-volt battery. A higher sensitivity 12 loop antenna fabricated using 22-gauge solid wire will replace the receiver s standard ferrite induction coil antenna. Using aluminum standoffs, a loop will be formed outside of the BalloonSat s enclosure. Division of Labor With all of the necessary components, the team has divided up the labor to maximize efficiency, and take advantage of the special skills and abilities of the members. We have divided into groups according to the major components of the satellite. Each person or group is responsible for the construction, configuration, and any problems that should arise in their area. We plan to do as much as we can in class; however we are committed to outside meetings when necessary. The construction has been divided into 7 teams within our group. The Recording team s primary designer will be Kris with Challon as the auxiliary designer. The Structure team s primary designer will be Kris with Brian as the auxiliary designer. The AM Receiving and Solar Panel team s primary designer will be Chris with auxiliary design assistance from any other available member. The Camera team s primary designer will be Hwapyong with auxiliary design assistance from any other available member. The HOBO team s primary designer will be Valerie, also with auxiliary design assistance from any other available member. The Component Integration team s primary designer will be Brian with Challon as the auxiliary designer. These teams are by no means exclusive, though, and whenever possible the entire Radio Flyer team will work together on all construction components. Throughout the construction, it will be the responsibility of each team to test their specific components thoroughly and whenever possible the entire firm will be there to assist in the tests. Once each component has been tested the entire satellite will be assembled and tested by the entire team. These tests will include the drop test as and cold test. The balloonsat will be activated and dropped from a significant height to reach the estimated decent rate of the actual flight to test for any possible damage to components during the flight and landing. The Balloonsat will also be activated and placed into a residential freezer for about half an hour to ensure that it maintains the required internal temperature for the actual flight. 4 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

5 Launch Program The team will arrive at the launch site with the fully functional Radio Flyer satellite. Before launch all of the systems will be tested and refreshed with new batteries. Once the team is sure that all the systems are working properly and are turned on, the satellite will be closed and prepared to be attached to the launch vehicle. The rope of the balloon will be run through the center of the satellite and secured at each end with a knot. When it is time to launch one team member will stand in the launch area and hold the satellite. On the completion of countdown the satellite will be released and carried off with the launch vehicle. One of the team members will accompany the chase vehicle to the recovery site. Safety Procedures Constructing our Balloon Satellite involves using tools and equipment that has potential safety risks. So in order to keep from getting hurt our group is going to take measures while constructing. The members of this group will be conscious of the dangers involved in the jobs that they are going to perform. They will create an environment when they are working that minimizes the risks of those dangers whenever they are constructing. This group will make sure that they do not try to work a potentially dangerous job alone. Safety will not be neglected for any reason. Fulfilling Requirements The Experimental components above will fulfill all of the requirements of the proposal as explained in their respective sections. The radio receiver and photovoltaic measurements will satisfy the requirement for two extra experiments, all of the cost and weight requirements will be obeyed to stay with in the regulation lines. 5 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

6 Technical Overview: Functional Block Diagram 6 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

7 Technical Overview: Estimated* Mass Budget Item Name Component Mass (g) Total Mass (g) Power Supply (2 batteries) Timing Circuit Camera Mirror Set (2 mirrors) Internal Heaters (2) HOBO Data Logger Voltage Monitor Solar Panel (4) AM Receiver Digital Recorder Misc. Internal Components (wire, solder etc.) Aluminum and Foam-core Structure Total Mass: 500 * Some components can be modified to decrease weight Management and Cost Overview Schedule of event completion: Presentation meeting: :00 P.M. Red Robin Complete design: Acquire all Hardware: Prototyping design: Test final design: systems test: cold test: drop test: Design reviews: Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

8 Member Roles -Challon Winer (College: Arts and Sciences, Phone: , Address: 447 pinewood Circle, Lafayette, Colorado 80026): Team Leader, Recording team auxiliary designer will be responsible for the coordination of all separate teams and scheduling all meetings. He will be responsible for making sure that each person on the team is keeping up with their schedule, As well as assisting in the design of the recording device. -Brian Creber (College: Engineering, Phone: , Address: 166 Andrews Hall, Boulder, Colorado 80310): Component Integration primary designer, Structure auxiliary designer: once all components are finalized it will be his responsibility to integrate all the components together and make sure that everything works correctly. Brian will also be the Public Relations contact with radio Kris Hodges (College: Engineering, Phone: , Address: th Street #882, Boulder, Colorado 80310): Recording and Structure primary designer: will be responsible for the construction and development of the recording device as well as the structure of the satellite both interior and exterior. -Hwapyong Ko (College: Engineering, Phone: ): Camera Systems primary designer: will be responsible for the design of the camera including mirrors and lenses. He will also be the Treasurer and will be responsible for the purchase and location of materials and sticking to the proposed budget, -Chris Maytag (College: Arts and Sciences, Phone: ): Receiving AM Broadcast primary designer, Solar Panels primary designer: will be responsible for the receiving of the AM broadcast from Radio He will also be closely involved in the connection between the AM radio and the digital recorder. -Valerie Slasor (College: Engineering, Phone: , Address: 111 Cockerell Hall, Boulder, Colorado 80310): HOBO team primary designer, will be responsible for HOBO integration, power and sensor placement. She will be in charge of configuring the HOBO to handle temperature, voltage and pressure gauges. She is also the inter-firm contact who is responsible for sending and receiving all information between team members. 8 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

9 Management and Cost Overview: Itemized Cost Budget Item Name Total Component Cost (in Dollars) Power Supply (2 batteries) 5.00 Timing Circuit 0 (already Supplied) Camera 0 (already Supplied) Mirror Set (2 mirrors) 3.00 Internal Heaters (2) HOBO Data Logger 0 (already Supplied) Voltage Monitor 8.00 Solar Panel (4) AM Receiver Digital Recorder Misc. Internal Components (wire, solder etc.) 5.00 Aluminum and Foam-core Structure Spare and Additional Components Total $ Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)

10 Illustration of Design 10 Radio Flyers Engineering (Team 6)