by rick m » Mon Dec 02, 2013 8:06 am
ArduSat Update
Both ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X have been successfully deployed from the ISS last month and are now in orbit . They were launched aboard the
KOUNOTORI4 atop the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 4 from Japan last August.[
They also managed to get one high altitude balloon flight prior to that launch courtesy of Edge Research Laboratory out of Colorado.
Here's a partial write up from the ArduSat webpage and link to a cool article from Sparkfun:
High-Altitude Tests Successful – ArduSat Prototype Flies to 85,000 Feet!
On October 27th, the ArduSat payload prototype was carried to 85,000 feet on a high-altitude balloon! During the flight, which took a little over two hours, the payload ran sample programs, ran tests on the sensors, and even snapped some pictures in the upper stratosphere. The launch was made possible thanks to the awesome guys at Edge Research Laboratory from Colorado Springs, who designed and built the balloon, provided all the tracking services, and even had a plane helping photograph and recover the payload after landing. We’ve posted the first few pictures from the flight on our Facebook and Twitter pages!
There’s also a great blog article from Sparkfun (one of our sponsors) here: . Sparkfun also launched a balloon with Edge Research on the same day and managed to hit 125,000 feet (their payload was ¼ the weight)!
Originally, we had planned to launch from Austin Texas on September 22, but the flight had to be rescheduled when the launch provider found their helium tanks empty right before launch day and didn’t have enough time to get replacement gas before we had to fly back to San Francisco.
And this is how they solved the problem of testing their payload in near space conditions without having to rely on a launch provider:
Building some space in our lab – progress on the thermal vacuum chamber
As much fun as it is sending the payload into the stratosphere, we need an easier way to test how our electronics perform in the low pressure and temperature extremes they’ll see in space. To do this, we’ve been putting together a thermal vacuum chamber that will simulate orbital conditions, with the help from David Thiebert from Thibert Engineering Concepts.
As of this week, we’ve built the chamber, found and fixed a few small leaks around the seals, and have started testing off-the-shelf Arduinos in vacuum (we've put a few pictures on our Facebook / Twitter as well). Over the next few weeks we’ll be building the heating and cooling system to simulate temperature extremes in the vacuum, using simple resistive lamps to simulate the sun and a liquid-nitrogen-based cooling system to simulate cold deep space.
Congratulations again to the Nanosatisfi team for their successful project.
Rick
High Desert Aerospace
Hard work is good for you, try it.