Hey Jeff!
> Has anyone started on a design/implementation of a 1kg satellite
> prototype yet?
No, no one has given us any kind of payload yet.
However, we had one of those "aha" moments several months ago where we
realized that our avionics system is a pretty darn good satellite by
itself - so now it's a larger satellite, but heck, it's free since we
need it anyway. And after all, it's all software these days, so why
can't the avionics system reconfigure itself after orbital insertion?
We'll have a magnetometer, an ATV system, and a GPS, so why not use that
as our satellite? And heck, if someone adds more satellite-like things
to the avionics system (like, for example, magnetorquers and solar
panels), how could that be bad? :) Just think we shut down the IMU and
pressure sensors, and keep the ATV system, GPS, magnetometer on.
In fact, we were just joking a few days ago that on the current avionics
system, ditching a stage is going to be like unplugging a USB peripheral ;)
So, one of the questions we're asking ourselves right now is exactly how
small and light weight can we make the avionics system. For example,
could it be made small enough to fit in a cubesat (10 x 10 x 10 cm)? It
might be tough, but why not? Sounds like a fun challenge. But there are
lots of gotchas: heat dissipation. Outgassing. Etc.
But one step at a time: we've got to get the recover node up and
running, then the power system, then the flight computer... we've got a
ways to go before we can start packing things in tight together.
Andrew
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Andrew Greenberg
Portland State Aerospace Society (http://psas.pdx.edu/)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] P: 503.788.1343 C: 503.708.7711
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