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Pyrolitic Graphite Experiment

 

There are a couple experiments being carried out by the payload of the satellite. One of them is testing the radiation insulating properties of pyrolitic graphite. This is done my having two geiger counters; one that covered with a sheet of pyrolititic graphite and one that exposed. The reading of the geiger counter are sent to the OBC and then to the ground station where they are compared.  The second experiment is testing wether pyrolitic graphite can be used to control the attitude of the satellite by shining a laser on pieces of graphite attached to the satellite. The movements of the satellite are recorded using a gyroscope and accelometer. 

 

 

Camera 

 

There is an onboard camera attached to the satellite. It is programmed to take photos at scheduled times and upon request. The photos are going to be used for outreach, to get people interested in the project . 

 

For this project I programmed a microcontroller in a FreeRTOS embedded environment. I set up and tested the various communication protocols (UART, CAN, I2C) and the pins for the interrupts and pulse width modulation (PWM). I also programmed the functions that controled the experiment. Additionally, I helped with integrating the payload into the satellite by designing mounts for the temperature sensor and the inertial measurement unit.