PSAS Launch 11

L-11 is the 12th launch in Portland State Aerospace Society history. For a full program launch history see psas.pdx.edu.

Launched July 20th, 2014

Watch launch on youtube

The flight ended up mostly as a checkout and data gathering flight for our upgraded avionics stack and still-in-development rocket software stack.

L-11 Objectives

1. Launch our LV2.3 airframe summer 2014
2. Successful flight to at least 75% of projected altitude; recover all hardware intact.
3. Telemetry

• get data from:
  • Inertial sensors
  • Events (e.g., 'launch')
  • Commands
• Record telemetry on rocket
• Live stream to ground
• Record on ground
• Real time display on ground
• Record on data creating device

1. Ground Support

• Remote, safe, digital ignition control
• Effective recovery
  • Coordination between recovery teams and mission control
  • Know rocket location immediately after landing
  • Easy transportation back to flight line

1. Experiments

• Roll control
  • Documented algorithm and analysis
  • Include control data in telemetry
• Record raw GPS RF environment to SD card
• Digital Video
  • Downward facing camera
  • Record locally
  • Live digital feed of camera to ground in integrated telemetry stream
  • Record on ground
  • Secondary upward facing camera
  • Real time ground display

---

Major Projects:

• Primary Flight Computer Softawre: psas/av3fc
• Microcontroller firmware: psas/stm32
• Electronics CAD files: psas/avionics-cad
• Data format spec: psas/psas_packet
• Telemetry viewer: psas/telemetry

Rocket Overview

Rocket Data

• Liftoff Mass: 74.9 lbs
• Motor: N2501

Jargon and Projects:

• Elderberry: A python package with a event model C code generator to compile the Flight Computer. Also called the FCF
• FC: The Flight Computer
• RNH: Rocket Net Hub, the power and data distribution for the rocket
• FCF: Flight Computer Framework. see: Elderberry
• Telemetry Viewer: A python backend for a web based viewer for arbitrary data