2012.May.22
 |
 |
Cool SpaceRunner-LX800 on its way into spaceStanford‘s AA236C Interface Team has selected the ruggedized PC/104-Plus module to build a satellite for the CubeView mission. The primary instrument of the satellite’s payload is an 11 megapixel camera, connected via USB 2.0 to the embedded computer module. This is, however, not its only purpose: There are four more scientific experiments on board. Among these is a detector to study micrometeorite impacts on the satellite. Another one are several flash memory chips with more or less radiation shielding being constantly tested to analyze the space environment’s effects on flash storage devices.
This complex application requires a capable processing unit running a sophisticated operating system. The used Debian Linux OS provides all functionality needed to operate the system described, and the Cool SpaceRunner-LX800 with its 500 MHz clock and 2 GB on-board SSD accommodates it nicely.
Professor Dr. Andrew E. Kalman, leader of the CubeSat team, said about using a PC/104 board in the project: "From the early days of the CubeSat, people have talked about flying PC/104. But most PC/104 cards have connectors that extend past the nominal 90x96mm PC/104 footprint. That's unacceptable in a CubeSat, as the inside volume is constrained by a roughly 97 x 97mm square. Lippert's approach to breakout connectors (vertical, on 0.100" pitch spacing) makes it possible to make connections from the CSR-LX800 to other parts of the system, without exceeding the 90x96mm footprint." So the Cool SpaceRunner-LX800 became the second x86 based single board computer used in CubeSat. The previously used microcontrollers simply could not provide the required computing environment and processing power, while consuming a mere 5 to 8 watts for the whole computer system.
|
The CubeView’s software application is a rather large and complex system. Designed as a “black box”, it receives commands and acts accordingly. Basically, the main loop is a TCP/IP server listening to the bus; the payload handlers run on a port of the main processor in their own, independent processes. This structure allows individual control of the payload components and encourages modular development. The application software is able to create thumbnails of captured images and send them to the ground station controller. There, only the interesting images are selected and thus, only relevant high resolution pictures need to be transmitted, which mitigates transfer rate problems.
Featured Product
|
