Team Lightning Rod Final Presentation Fall 2010 Rev D 11/2/2010 Trevor Luke Chris Bennett Matt Holmes Sushia Rahimizadeh Alex Shelanski Matthew Dickinson Jesse Ellison 11/30/2010

Mission Overview  Objective  To determine if future spacecraft will be able to utilize energy generated by vibrational and rotational motion as additional energy sources  To determine if more energy can be generated from vibrational motion or rotational motion  What we hope to prove and discover  A significant amount of energy can be produced from the motion of the satellite  A satellite can generate enough energy to power some systems  Hypothesis  Rotational motion will produce more energy than vibrational motion  Why we are doing this mission  To develop an alternative method of generating power for spacecraft

Vibrational Generator

Rotational Generator

Satellite

Functional Block Diagram

Electromagnetic Generator Battery Pack Camera Heater Switch Hobo Power Electromagnetic Generator Functional Block Diagram Switch Storage Actual Flight

Launch Recap Last minute adjustments during drive to launch site Jesse launched satellite Total flight time 2 hrs. 15 min. Entire team retrieved satellite Rotational Generator broke during flight Vibrational Generator produced energy

Interior of Box after recovery Us gathering the voltage data

Results Expected Energy output (could not determine without accurate acceleration data) Rotational Generator produce more energy than Vibrational Generator Actual Rotational Generator produced 0 joules Vibrational Generator produced 4.76 kJ

Analysis Did the generators capture energy? – Rotational Generator was damaged Can assume that battery voltage increase was negligible – Vibrational Generator survived Increased the battery voltage Vibrational generator was completely responsible for battery pack voltage increase

Analyzing how batteries Charge

DATA Battery pack initial charge: 3.84 V Battery pack final charge: 4.02 V Increase: 0.18 V – 0.18 V increase on 7350 mAh pack – Translates to Watt-Hours Total electrical energy captured: J

Battery Arrangement Asymmetrical

Reversed Battery Why didn’t it drain? Diode turn on threshold not reached

Temperature Burst

Relative Humidity

Failure Analysis Computer Program Mechanical failure of rotational generator Temperature and humidity had no effect Suspected failure prior to launch – Believed that rotor got jammed while assembling satellite No motion, no energy captured

Recreating our Failure Recreating the Rotational Generator failure: 1.We reattached the battery pack inside the satellite and attempted to simulate flight 2.We calculated the time it took for the battery pack to fall 3.We knew from the cold test that if a battery fell during flight, it would destroy the rotational generator and no energy would be produced. 4.The battery pack fell off extremely quickly, making us believe it could’ve happened early in flight, thus the reason for the Rotational Generator Failure.

Recreating our failure Battery pack fell

Conclusions 1.Both generators produce energy on ground 2.The Vibrational Generator was successful and produced energy 3.The Rotational Generator faced complications and failed during flight, thus producing no detectable energy

APPENDIX

Lessons Learned 1.Understand what data needs to be collected and start programming ASAP 2.Manage time better (stick to the schedule) 3.Have more buffers for failure 4.Experiments that seem simple take more work and troubleshooting than expected. Simplify experiment as much as possible. 5.Building your own components, even if it sounds simple, isn’t… ever. 6.Utilize resources, especially people

Re-flight The payload should be stored anywhere that the magnetic fields within it will not interfere with its surroundings The payload can be activated by a switch. To fulfill the original design requirements, the satellite needs to be rewired, and the program finished

Requirement How it will be Accomplished Shall collect and analyze data through additional experimentsCharged batteries BalloonSat should be returned workingDone Flight String interface tubeWhip Test Keeping internal temperature above -10CIt was -12 Total wieght shall not exceed 850gBudget Acquire ascent and descent rates of the flight stringHOBO Allow for HOBODesign Allow for external temperature cableDesign Allow for CameraDesign Allow for HeaterDesign Shall be made of foam coreDesign Parts list and budget shall include spare partsBudget Have contact information written on the outside, along with flagDone Proposal, design, and other units shall be in metricDone Launch day scheduleDone No one shall get hurtDone All hardware should get returned workingDone Keep detailed budgetBudget All purchases shall have receiptsDone Have fun and be creativeDone Nothing alive will be permitted as payloadDone RFP Requirements

Budget

$ Cost of Supplies $ Hardware Mass g Final Mass1200g Budget

Message to Next Semester Dear next semester, 1.Schedule to finish a few weeks ahead of time to leave time for troubleshooting. 2.Understand what data is being collected and start programming at least a month before launch. 3.Start all aspects of the project early because certain aspects will take more time than is expected. 4.If experiment requires homemade components, stay up late to get them finished rather than put them off till ‘tomorrow’ because they will need modification. 5.Divide into pairs and work on different aspects of the project, then go over everyone's work during weekly meetings. 6.Set aside at least 10 hours per week to work on project. Do not take this course if you cannot make the time commitment. Your team-mates can’t afford to have members who do not carry enough of their own weight.