Hi,
Another weekly update. We thought it would be good to provide some individual updates from some of the other team members. So here are updates from John Mo, John Ma, Marcel, Dan & Martin.
John Mo is handling the electronic design and he’s been working on the sensor ‘daughterboards’ and solar PCB. Here is his update:
We have the final range of sensors and I’ve been working on the Eagle daughterboard designs. So far we have the temperature, humidity and GPS board designs done. These will be sent off for production samples over this coming week. We are expecting imminently the Solar PCB delivery and will be testing this when it arrives.
From Marcel, who is working on the Dashboard and ‘backend’ server coding:
Work on the dashboard has started and I’ve made reasonable progress. So far the login screen is functional (although graphics will need to still be updated) and the main dashboard framework is coded up. it’s fully responsive and will display correctly on desktops, tablets and mobile phones. Some of the backend code (countdown timer and news section) has been developed as well. Next up will be the receipt and processing of the sensor data.
From Dan. His update is related to the dispatch of kits:
As you know, the satellite release procedure is having to be changed in order to meet the licensing requirements set by the UK Space Agency. This means we need to alter the satellite design to allow them to remain fixed to the CubeSat chassis after deployment.
We have been working on the necessary alterations since July and whilst making good progress, we may not meet the initial target of shipping the kits by the end of October. New projects, such as this, are likely to run into challenges but any slip in the deadline is still disappointing.
We expect to finalise the changes soon and will keep you informed of developments.
From Martin:
I’d like to just add a little further background on where we are at and upcoming milestones:
As Dan indicates, there are some mechanical design changes as a result of our recent talks with the UK Space Agency. We are currently waiting on our traffic light assessment which will hopefully make the picture a little clearer for us. Dan has provided a useful heads-up that there might be a delay but I’m certainly hoping that the end of October is still a viable date for delivery of the kits. On the GPS front, because of the COCOM requirements, it looks like a single GPS chip onboard the 3U CubeSat is the best way forward. However, we are providing the option to specify a GPS chip as a sensor option. Many have chosen earth-based ‘satellites’ and so the option is there to choose the GPS. In Low Earth Orbit, sprites can communicate with the 3U for location data. For those building custom boards, we appreciate that you need mechanical information sooner rather than later and we are working on it with urgency.
Project milestones:
- Completion of the daughterboard sensor designs and then getting the sensor options sent out to everyone so that you can choose which sensor you want on your AmbaSat-1.
- The traffic light assement from the UK Space Agency and next steps with the 3U design and impact on the sprite design
- Solar PCB testing
- Completion of the Dashboard, integration of the TTN data
- Example code for the AmbaSat-1 release, together with documentation/step-by-step guid, etc
- Assembly of the ‘pre-assembled’ boards
- Kit creation and fulfilment
Thank you all for your ongoing support.
The AmbaSat Team!
