Partial Success

The DroneSat mission achieved partial success. The design, tests, calibration, drone flight, and communication were successful; the team was able to qualify for a launch. However, on the launch day, there were some issues with the GeoZone. The GeoZone was set in the correct place, but the CanSat powered on in the wrong spot. Due to safety reasons, we could not get close enough to the launch zone where our GeoZone was located, and the inability to detect the launch led to a failure to wake up the drone and collect data.

Team Drone

Building a satellite to land on a designated spot.

Primary Mission

Objectives

Step one of the Primary Mission is to build the shell of the CanSat which will contain all its components. The CanSat will have a temperature and air pressure sensor onboard. Pressure and temperature shall be measured at least at 1Hz. The measurements will be transmitted to a ground station. At the ground station the data will be converted into graphs.

Secondary Mission: Landing on a designated point with a GPS

Objectives

For the Secondary Mission, the CanSat will open during its descent and turn into a drone. It will use GPS to navigate to a chosen point on a map. This can also serve as a prototype for space waste retrieval, allowing unused rockets and satellites to safely return to Earth and keep the airspace clean.

Hardware

HARDWARE

  • Adafruit Feather M0 LoRa for sending data
  • AdaFruit BMP390 to measure temperature and pressure
  • Adafruit BNO08x to measure the direction and flight stabilization
  • Mateskys m10q-5883 GPS module for precise landing and navigation
  • Flywoo Goku f722 pro mini v2 stack to manage motor control and flight operations
  • Emax Eco 1404 Motors to make the CanSat be able to fly
Materials

MATERIALS

  • Impact-resistant plastics (PLA, PLA-CF)
  • Heavy duty battery connectors (XT30)
  • Soldering can withstand 20 G-Forces
  • Metal rods for extra strength
Mission

MISSION

  • Measure temperature and pressure
  • Deploy arms after falling out of the rocket
  • Turn on motors during descent and stabilize
  • Autonomously fly to our own chosen point on a map
  • Land at chosen spot
Recovery

RECOVERY

  • GPS tracking for precise location
  • Drone flight enables autonomous relocation
  • Onboard SD card stores all flight and sensor data