Introduction to NASA High Altitude Science Program:

1
Introduction to NASA High Altitude Science
Program Austin Howard Idaho Space Grant
Consortium
2
Background

• Idaho Space Grant joined the National Space
  Grant Student Satellite Crawl, walk, run, fly!
  Program in 2003 with Introduction of Idaho RISE
• First element of this program is Crawl to
  develop capability to build, test, fly, operate,
  and recover scientific hardware from high
  altitude balloons.
• Next Steps
• Walk Suborbital/sounding rocket flights
• Fly Satellites for Earth orbit
• Run Spacecraft for deep space operations

3
Flight History

• RISE 03_01 5 Apr 2003 94,000 feet
• RISE 03_02 12 June 2003 98,000 feet
• RISE 03_03 24 July 2003 88,000 feet
• RISE 04_01a 28 Aug 2004 90,000 feet
• RISE 04_01b 28 Aug 2004 100,700 feet
• RISE 04_02 26 Sept 2004 87,000 feet
• RISE 05_01 10 Apr 2005 91,000 feet
• RISE 05_02 29 Oct 2005 Unknown
• RISE 06_01 25 Feb 2006 40,000 feet
• RISE 06_02 22 Oct 2006
  10,000 feet
• RISE 07_01 21 Apr 2007
  89, 000 feet
• RISE 07_02 15 May 2007
  84,000 feet

4
What is VAST?

• VAST Vandal Atmospheric Science Team
• Chapter of Idaho Space Grant RISE Program
  Research Involving Student Engineers and
  Educators
• Multidisciplinary program involving students in
• Engineering
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Life Sciences
• Education
• Business
• Students design, build, test and fly science
  payloads up to 100,000 ft and beyond

5
The View From The Top
6
The View From The Top
7
Vision
8
What Do I Get Out Of This?

• Hands on experience applying knowledge build both
  in and out of class work
• Build connections and relationships with people
  from a variety of disciplines and experience
  levels
• Including students/faculty connected to NASA
• Freedom to experiment and learn your own way
• Experience working in groups
• Possibility for leadership experience

9
Perspective

• Commercial airlines cruise between
  30,000-40,000ft
• (9-12 km)
• International Space Station orbits at around
  1,150,000 ft (350km)
• Balloons can reach above 100,000 ft (30 km)
• Pressure 1 of sea level
• (near vacuum, about the same as surface of
  Mars)
• Temperatures low as -50o F (-46o C)
• Sky is black

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VAST!
11
Organization
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Teams

• VAST Teams
• Science/Instrumentation
• Define science requirements
• Specify and calibrate/test instruments
• Communications
• Flight hardware (GPS, radios, antennas)
• Armature radio video broadcast
• Structures/Thermal
• Thermal design
• Packaging
• Rigging/descent

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Teams Cont

• VAST Teams
• Control and Data Handling
• On-board data storage
• Power
• Microprocessors
• Programming
• Ground Station
• Antenna pointing
• Data archiving
• Organize tracking/recovery efforts
• Launch planning

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Teams Cont

• VAST Teams
• Outreach (Marketing, PR, Education, Graphic
  Design)
• Graphic design (T-shirts, posters, fliers)
• High school student mentoring
• Photo/video record keeping (PR video?)
• Public website maintenance
• Building connections to professional
  organizations (ASME, SWE, IEEE, Engineering
  hall)
• Program Management (Business)
• Strategic planning
• Budget management
• Define, prioritize, and budget tasks
• Inventory tools and supplies

15
Projects

• Last Semesters Projects
• Broadcast live TV from payload
• Temperature/Acceleration sensors
• On-board computer
• Current Projects
• Basalt magnetic field sensing experiment
• Small atmospheric entry probe prototype
  development
• Improved imaging capabilities/Command uplink
  capability
• Data logging board development

16
Magnetic Field Sensing

• Project Goals
• Construct a low-cost, low-power, lightweight
  magnetometer for mapping earth fields
• Fly magnetometer on RISE balloon measure rock
  magnetization along flight path
• Demonstrate ability to overcome technical
  difficulties
• sensor orientation
• altitude variations (possibly altitude control)
• topographic corrections

17
Entry Probe Development

• Project Goals
• Design a light weight entry probe prototype that
  has the ability to
• Obtain atmospheric density, pressure, and
  temperature as a function of altitude throughout
  an entire simulated entry flight test
• Collect data at 10hz sample rate
• Communicate data through telemetry
• Survive impact or send all data prior to impact
• Probe will not have a parachute

18
Misc. Technology Development

• Project Goals
• Develop uplink command capability
• Improved still imaging
• Develop remote control imaging/experiment
  platform
• Develop autonomous directional tracking station

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Expectations/Syllabus
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Are Your Ready to Make History?

• This is uncharted territory
• Which means its going to be challenging
• It also means we need dedicated/motivated
  students
• It also means it will be that much more rewarding
  when we deliver above and beyond anyone's wildest
  expectations!

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Assignment 1

• Post Bio on wiki site
• See tutorial for details

http//uirise.wikidot.com