Cole Bostrom, Corey Godwin, Jonathon Kirchmaier, Emily Logan, Sean Murphy, Seanna Renworth Rev D

Mission Overview 1.1 Mission Statement The high altitude BalloonSat “Space Debris” shall capture images of the stars at five different angles with the use of a mechanical platform. During this process the internal temperature of the Balloon Sat shall remain above zero degrees Celsius and the internal and external temperatures shall be measured. The BalloonSat shall test the effectiveness of the mechanical platform and the camera while getting useful images of the stars. In order to obtain clear pictures of stars and keep the internal temperature of the BalloonSat above zero degrees Celsius, the team shall use a sheet of plexi-glass to fill the hole in the inside door.

PARTS HB-25 Batteries Basic Stamp Camera HOBO Motor

Functional Block Diagram

How BalloonSat worked The BalloonSat experienced many malfunctions. The camera did not function because there was tape over the shutter. The HOBO did not work due to the fact the program was accidentally deleted. The platform worked correctly. This was proven by testing the platform program after the retrieval of the BalloonSat.

Differences between proposal and final product Bigger gears with matching gear tracks instead of smaller gears with the plastic hexagonal bar Mounted the camera on a ruler halfway up the box instead of making a box around the motor for it Made a battery holder Added more switches Changed timing circuit to HB-25 and motor controller system Used lithium batteries Did not isolate gear tracks from the rest of the box Rearranged box layout

Predicted and actual results It was predicted that the team would receive pictures of the stars at five different angles with the use of a mechanical platform. The team then hoped to be able to identify the stars in the pictures. The team received no pictures or HOBO data. The platform functioned correctly

Platform success!!!!!!!! The platform deployed and retracted completely during the flight. When the program for the platform is reset, the platform deploys immediately. For all deployments after the first, the gears in the motor spin for a few seconds before the platform deploys. When the box was opened, the platform system was turned on. After 15 minutes, the motor gears began to spin and then the platform came out, which means that the platform had already deployed and retracted during flight, so that part of the mission was successful.

Recap of flight The flight was pretty successful. Everyone let go at the right time and the BalloonSats were launched without hitting the ground. Although the flight string with the team’s BalloonSat temporally lost radio communication it was returned later in the flight. The mechanical platform deployed and returned during the flight. The BalloonSats landed in a field and the teams were able to retrieve them

Failure Analysis Camera The camera failed because it had tape over the shutter. The team tested this by blocking the shutter of a couple of cameras and watched as the shutter would not come out. The failure was easily repeated by trying to turn the camera back on. The team tested the camera after removing the tape and it functioned correctly. HOBO The HOBO did not function because after the HOBO was programmed, it was reconnected to the computer to make sure that it was set for the proper time and date. The HOBO was not reprogrammed after the check, which meant that there was no program on the HOBO. The HOBO was tested to try to make it replicate the results from the flight. The test that accomplished this was when the HOBO was re- plugged into the computer. This problem has been fixed by testing the HOBO in many different conditions without re-plugging the HOBO into the computer before these tests. (The HOBO worked each time).

Conclusions The team discovered that an extendable platform can function in the near space environment. The team did not retrieve very much data. The only data that was retrieved was that the platform functioned correctly. The team would remove the tape over the shutter and program the HOBO correctly if the BalloonSat was flown again

Lessons Learned The team would distribute the work a little more evenly and be more specific about tasks that need to be accomplished each week. The team would also follow the schedule more exactly and record more information about the steps taken during the building process. In order to get the expected results the team would have not taped over the shutter and they would have not re-plugged the HOBO in after programming it.

Ready to Fly The tape has been removed from the camera shutter The HOBO has been programmed successfully The payload should be stored in a secure location. The location would have to be somewhere where the switches do not get hit, where the wires will not get rearranged, and where the batteries won’t die. The payload can be activated by flipping the four switches The heater should be turned on at least ten minutes before flight.

Requirements

Proposal Requirements

Cost Budget ItemCost (dollars) Foam coreProvided InsulationProvided Adhesive (hot glue, aluminum tape)Provided Heating System (1)Provided Canon A570IS Digital Camera (1)Provided HOBO H data logger (1)Provided Central tube for flight string (1)Provided Anti-abrasion bushings (2)Provided Batteries (9V and 12V)Provided DesiccantProvided RulerProvided Switches (4)Provided Mirrors (4)$0.75 Gearbox (1)$18.45 Plastic Gears (2)$8.76 HB-25 Motor Controller (1)$49.99 Carrier Board (1)$19.99 Extension cable (1)$1.99 Plexi-glass$0.25 Basic Stamp (1)$58.02 Plastic Gear Rack (2)$7.16 Screws (4)$1.00 Spare PartsFactored previously Cost paid by GTS$ Cost paid by Space Debris$ Total Cost$166.36

Weight Budget ComponentWeight (grams) Foam Core (712.5 cm 2 )255 g Structure Adhesive45 g Inner Door (Foam core with plexi-glass)18.6 g Camera220 g HOBO34 g Heater (1)23.1 g Insulation (342.3 cm 2 )30 g Eyebolts (2)5 g Anti abrasion bushings (2)5 g Tube10 g Gearbox and gears25 g Outer door (foam core and four mirrors)110 g HB g Carrier Board and Basic Stamp47.9 g Guiderails (2)46 g Ruler (1)13 g Desiccant0.75 g 9V lithium batteries (5)148.7 g Switches (4)22.8 g Screws (4)5.55 g Total Weight1142 g Amount Overweight142 g

Message to Next Semester Time is NOT your friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In order to be successful it is very important that your team meets once or twice (at a minimum) a week. When the launch day gets closer your meetings will tend to get longer and sometimes last through the night. It is important to stay hopeful and positive throughout the building process otherwise these meeting will not accomplish as much. In order to avoid as many of these types of meetings it is advisable that you start as soon as possible and do as much as you can early in the semester. Time becomes an even bigger enemy when you do not keep your project simple. You are told multiple times the importance of keeping it simple and yet this is the aspect that tends to be overlooked the easiest. Our team started with a very simple idea for our BalloonSat that turned into a complex project that took many long hours to complete. Do not let your team take a simple idea and sit and discuss how to change it around because you will end up with a harder science mission than you intended and by then it will be too late to change to a different mission. This is the most important message that our team could give you because if the mission is too complex things start falling apart and getting very tense. During the process it is important to keep the team balanced. It is extremely unfair and will create great tension in your group if a couple of members end up doing most or all of the work. Make sure that each person is your group is footing their fair share of the work. Also be flexible with meeting times because then the most people will be able to come to each meeting. This is extremely important because if only a couple of people are showing up to each meeting it makes the team very disjointed and separated. It is also important to not leave one or two team mates with the jobs that nobody wants to do (such as the revision documents). If this happens your team will become even more divided and tense with one another. After the process of building is complete it is still extremely important to be careful. Before turning in your BalloonSat check all the small details and simple things that could go wrong with it on launch day. In our group our camera and HOBO did not function correctly but our complicated science mission that we were worried about worked. It is important to not overlook the small aspects of your project just because there may be other more complicated ones. Most importantly: HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!