OHKLA avionics module

From CSTART Wiki

[edit] Overview

The OHKLA avionics module is a small, self-contained package of electronics designed to fit in the payload component of the OHKLA rocket. The primary jobs of the avionics module are:

• To enable verification of the maximum altitude of the flight,
• To enable recovery of the payload component after landing.

Secondary jobs of the avionics module (which are less important but which it should be able to do if doing so will not make the module too heavy, expensive, etc.) are:

• To record video footage (preferably HD) of the flight,
• To record other data of interest (temperature, barometric pressure, etc.)

At the very least, data recorded by the avionics module should be stored locally in the module, to be recovered after landing. If it can be done without making the module too heavy, expensive, etc. the data should be broadcast back to the launch site via radio, so that we still have some data if the avionics module cannot be located after landing or stops functioning during flight.

[edit] Design criteria

• First and foremost, the avionics module needs to be rugged. It will experience high acceleration during launch and sudden decceleration during landing. Any components involved in data storage or landing location reporting need to have a high probability of surviving these forces. This is more important than anything else.
• Lightweight and compact size. The lighter the avionics module, the easier it will be to get to 100km altitude. Realistically, the mass of the avionics module will probably be small compared to the mass of other parts of the rocket, so this is not of critical concern. Still, lighter is better, and experience with making things as small as possible will be valuable for future missions.

[edit] Components

The module contains:

• An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) (for recording maximum altitude)
• A GPS receiver (for reporting landing site to recovery team)
• A storage facility for logging data (USB stick? SD card? CF unit?)
• A power supply
• ...probably more...