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WVU Sounding Rocket Student Project Conceptual Design Review

WVU Sounding Rocket Student Project Conceptual Design Review. West Virginia University D. Vassiliadis, Y. Gu, D. Pisano, E. Scime 10/14/2009. Mission Objectives. Primary objective: education and outreach. Develop student technical skills

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WVU Sounding Rocket Student Project Conceptual Design Review

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  1. WVU Sounding Rocket Student ProjectConceptual Design Review West Virginia University D. Vassiliadis, Y. Gu, D. Pisano, E. Scime 10/14/2009 RockSat 2010 CoDR

  2. Mission Objectives • Primary objective: education and outreach. • Develop student technical skills • Grow program alongside existing space-related WVU programs • Secondary objective: basic-level research. • Measure 3 fundamental physical variables to characterize the atmospheric environment during flight • Neutral-species temperature • Plasma density • Magnetic field RockSat 2010 CoDR

  3. Mission Research • Brief overview of underlying science: • Temperature: Atmospheric layers are heated via well-known different mechanisms: identify layer width based on observed temperature profile • Plasma density: UV ionization above 100 km produces ionosphere, also subdivided in regions • Rocket apogee of 115-120 km: access to ionospheric E region peak (during daytime) • Experiment measures plasma frequency (~1 MHz, simple function of density) and harmonics • Under certain conditions: high-density patches from F region (“spread-F” phenomenon) • Magnetic field: strongly involved in plasma structure and dynamics. • Experiment measures power-lawdecrease of field magnitude with geocentric distance; • Under certain conditions: very low-frequency (VLF; 0.1-10 Hz) waves with periods sufficiently smaller than flight duration RockSat 2010 CoDR

  4. Mission Research (cont.) • Contributions to ionospheric research • Above 3 variables measured routinely by sounding rocket missions for several decades. This mission is primarily educational rather than basic-research. • However, one experiment (plasma-density) is non-trivial because of limitations related to access to plasma  element of novelty in payload design. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  5. Mission Overview • Mission Requirements: • Apogee: should be at/above E region peak (~110 km) • Timing: daytime (dawn-dusk) launch is preferable (daytime decrease of E region peak height. Decrease is greatest in June due to seasonal variation). • Magnetic field measurements: vehicle subsystems should be as magnetically quiet as possible • Plasma density experiment has 2 options all of which are explored at present: • Radio sounding through optical port; • Mass spectrometer at atmospheric port. • Success Criteria • Obtain high-quality temperature and magnetic field measurements • (For sufficiently low-noise observations) identify VLF wave signatures in B-field data • Obtain plasma density as function of altitude consistent with E region profile • (Under high-activity conditions) high-density patches identified as spread-F. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  6. Mission Overview (cont.) • Benefits: • To students: learning new skills and science • To university programs: adding new program to array of space-related WVU programs (scientific ballooning, UAV, microgravity, etc.) • To university programs: stronger connections between physics and engineering departments • Eventually to research: expansion of space physics and space engineering programs RockSat 2010 CoDR

  7. Payload Design • Hardware for temperature and B-field experiments: • Note: models cited are representative only. Actual models may comprise several functions on a single component, similar to an inertial sensor. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  8. Payload Design (cont.) • Hardware for plasma-density experiment. One of 2 options will be selected subject to Wallops regulations: • Radio: A low-power source emits a swept frequency signal close to plasma-frequency cutoff (1-MHz). A wideband receiver detects the reflected signal at the cutoff frequency so the ambient density can be calculated. • Mass spec: A quadrupole mass spectrometer measures the near-thermal proton population. A calibrated leak valve is used for sample flow control and vacuum reservoir to maintain pressure. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  9. WVU SRP Functional Block Diagram:Radio Option RBF 2x9V Power 2x9V Power Radio Board G-switch Optical port Main Board G-switch μ-Mag Flash Memory Wideband Receiver Temp Sensor MOD5213 Processor A D C XY Accel Swept-f Emitter Z Accel ADC Controller /Clock Legend Power Control Data RockSat 2010 CoDR

  10. WVU SRP Functional Block Diagram:Mass Spec Option RBF 2x9V Power Mass-Spectrometer Board Main Board G-switch Atmospheric port μ-Mag Flash Memory Temp Sensor Magnet Amplifier Detector Pump MOD5213 Processor A D C XY Accel Z Accel ADC Controller G-switch Legend Power Control Data 5x9V Power RockSat 2010 CoDR

  11. RockSat Payload Canister User Guide Compliance • Payload mass and volume • Payload activation • G switches (compliant with WFF “no volt” requirement) • Remove-Before-Flight (RBF) strap • Rocket Interface • Shorting wires: patterned after those of RockOn payload RockSat 2010 CoDR

  12. Shared Can Logistics Plan • University payloads in canister and one-line summary of mission: • WVU: Upper atmospheric physics (1/4 can) • Temple U.: vibration isolation mechanism (1/2) • U. Louisiana: Expanded RockOn payload with altimeter, GPS (1/2) • Plan for collaboration on interfacing • WVU has initiated online discussion with TU and ULL • TU has provided some initial information and will continue immediately after CoDR telecon • WVU and ULL will need access to an optical port so we are discussing location and interfacing issues. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  13. Management • Organizations involved: • Physics: Profs. Vassiliadis, Pisano, Scime • Aerospace: Profs. Gu, Napolitano • Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL): external review and testing • Preliminary mass/monetary budgets • Mass budget: 1-2.5 kg (see table on p. 9) • Monetary budget: $4,500. RockSat 2010 CoDR

  14. Management (cont.) • Schedule • Student training • F2009: Project schedule • S2010: 3-credit course as part of advanced lab • Testing: default: at MAE; possibly also at ABL RockSat 2010 CoDR

  15. Concluding Remarks • Issues and concerns: • The use of a radio pulse emitter is critical and needs to be resolved soon. The radio option will result in a compact, novel plasma-density experiment. The mass spectrometer option produces a heavier, higher-wattage, traditional payload. • Space allocation: currently total payload volume from 3 institutions exceeds 1 canister. If no agreement can be reached among institutions, it would be important for RockSat to resolve the situation. • In closing, the project has attracted a good number of physics, ME, and AE students for this semester and has started providing them with the skillset needed for the fundamentals of payload development. As it develops into a course in spring 2010 the project is expected to continue to provide significant research and education experience. RockSat 2010 CoDR

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