Payload 02 Information
Payload Flight Number:
Institution:
Payload Title:
Found in Space
Student Leader:
Faculty Advisor:
Payload class:
SMALL
Payload ID Number:
02
Mass:
0.685 kg
Current:
0.2A @ 30V
Serial Downlink:
Analog Downlink:
No
Serial Commands:
No
Discrete Commands:
No
Payload Specification & Integration Plan
Due:
Delivered:
Payload Integration Certification
Scheduled:
Actual:
Flight Operation Plan
Due:
Delivered:
Final Flight / Science Report
Due:
Delivered:
Abstract:
There are few fixed reference points in space, but one of the most robust is the background of stars. This truism has lead to the invention of the star tracker, a device that compares salient stars in a photographic image of a portion of space against a star catalog to determine the orientation of the camera and thus of the vehicle that carries it. There are star trackers available commercially, but they run from a half million to a million dollars and thus are prohibitively expensive for a small space venture with limited funding. One such venture is the team that Tulane University’s Sociocognitive Robotics Lab (and Igor Carron at Texas A&M University) has partnered with to win the Google Lunar XPrize. HASP provides our team with the ability to test a home-made COTS star tracker in conditions similar to those that it will encounter on its way to the Moon.
Payload Integration Plan:
Science Report:
Monthly Briefings:
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