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The "When"
The "When"
Space Technologies and Rocketry had attempted to create a stabilization system for a rocket a few years ago. Due to some last minute issues (and some general incompatibilities), this system was never used on a rocket. The original concept had used COTS hardware with three servos stabilizing a small platform.
The "Why?"
The "Why?"
While the existing prototype could be iterated upon, we realized that there were some major issues we could fix with a new type of board. While the original Stabilizations payload was intended for a rocket, to stabilize a small object (ex. a camera) during flight, we wanted to stabilize a payload² — a payload upon another payload.
STAR's main payload project right now is the DAVE Aerial Vehicle Experiment, a foldable glider that deploys from a rocket at apogee. With this glider, we need the ability to stabilize masses relative to not just Earth, but both Earth and the glider as well. To achieve this, we need IMU data from the stabilization platform as well as from the glider's frame.
The "With What?"
The "With What?"
DAVE's Avionics stack is centred around the PixHawk 5, and this board comes with its own IMU. This means that as long as we designed our board s.t that it could interface with the PixHawk controller, we would have access to the board IMU and the PixHawk IMU and could therefore fulfill design criteria. As well, we'd need access to program the board itself, and we may want to take off-board data at a later point to verify flight conditions.
"Finished" Product
"Finished" Product
Major caveat. A few of the parts we ordered from DigiKey never came in. While this was easy to resolve for passive(?not sure if this is applicable or if servos are passives bc they don't produce power??) components, it was unfortunately not so with our servos. For this reason, we are not yet in a state where our board's function can be fully verified. On the other hand, she certainly is a looker, isn't she?
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