Project Definition
Goal
Our project goal is to design a descent probe for NASA that will maintain
structural, aerodynamic, and thermal integrity from 100,000 feet to the
surface, and survive impact. The team will design, build, test, and
implement a data acquisition and data storage system. All data will be time-tagged, buffered, and stored in format
suitable for telemetry to ground. The team will use the data collected
to "reconstruct the atmosphere" -- creating a pressure and temperature
profile of the atmosphere for a given altitude.
Needs
Physical Requirements:
-
aerodynamic stability of the probe
-
structural integrity
- mass
and size requirements- light and small
- parachute deployment system
- 30-60 sec free-fall or as long as possible
- mathematical model of flight
Electronics:
- data
acquisition
a. sampling rate- 10-100 Hz
b. resolution
c. signal quality
d. capability to acquire acceleration and orientation of capsule- in
three directions
- power source efficiency
- sensors
a. three-axis accelerometers
b. gyroscopes
c. magnetometers
d. horizon sensor
e. pressure sensors
f. internal and external
temperature sensors/
thermocouples
Specifications
