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| satellite, CFK case and parachute |
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| printing the final layer of our CanSat |
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| final structural design |
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
The final version of our Cansat's structural design is 3D printed!
Due to several printing errors as well as we measuring inaccuracies it was quite a long procedure to print our final mounting representing our structural design that is composed of 6 layers including 7 several parts that are stabalized by rods. The satellite´s CFK cover is to be cut to size as our sensors are placed at the border of the can which ensures realistic data measurements.The final structure enables us to directly reach several components. This has a far-reaching importance concerning the battery as an energy supply as well as our triggering mechanism that needs to be inspected at every juncture.
Friday, 10 June 2016
The Countdown has Begun
We are happy to be able to announce that the first part of our team - our antenna - is heading towards Portugal. We would like to thank "Molitor Speditions- und Handels- GmbH" for sponsoring the transport of this really important part of our ground support equipment.
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
Improving our Gas Chromatograph
As mentioned before, we finished assembling and soldering our gas chromatograph some weeks ago so that it is now externally finished. Currently, we are testing and improving it as well as adapting the mobile phase to our mission.
Gas chromatography uses the interaction of different chemical substances provoked by their chemical polarity or unpolarity. When a sample is injected, it meets two other substances. On the one hand, there is a inert or unreactive carrier gas, the mobile phase. The samples as well as the carrier gas stream through a column that contains the stationary phase, a microscopic layer of liquid or polymer on an inert solid support. Due to different intensities of the interaction of the individual substances of the sample and the stationary phase, these substances elute the column at a particular time for each compound. This retention time is characteristic of each substance so that it is possible to investigate the composition of a sample as well as the quantity of the individual components based on this time.
Our own gas chromatograph is based on a self-construction kit made for educational purposes (e.g. chemistry classes at school) that suggests air as an inexpensive and easily accessible carrier gas. Obviously, this cannot work out for our mission of analysing an air sample. Consequently, we have replaced it by helium. Helium as an inert, unreactive and noble gas is usually the most commonly used carrier gas for gas chromatography. It is also very suitable for our particular analyse because air contains helium only as a trace gas with an amount of 0.000425% that is not that interesting for our particular investigation. Helium emerges at every radioactive alpha-decay. The tiny atom rises from the ground and as it is much more lightweight than the other components of the air, it can quickly escape the atmosphere and get into space. These circumstances make the gas quite irrelevant not only for our mission of investigating whether there is life "outside of earth", but also for someone observing the environment in the framework of climate change, air pollution and so on.
Having chosen helium as the carrier gas, we faced the challenge of adapting the gas chromatograph itself to the change of the mobile phase. While the stationary phase that is provided in the kit is unaffected of any modifications, the technical settings of the measuring device had to be adjusted. As the whole system is usually supposed to work with air, this constellation up to now has got the best performance in precision and error susceptibility. In the last time, we have experimented with different settings and are in close contact to the manufacturer of our self-construction kit so that we are now receiving pretty reliable chromatograms (although improvements are still to come). Using different equilibrium reactions involving calcium chloride, we prepared samples of different air humidity. When we measured the humidity with our sensor SHT15 and then compared it to our graphs, we were able to see a very clear tendency of a large surface area of the peak at low humidity and, the other way rund, a small surface area at high humidity. In the last few weeks before launch, we will expand this procedure and create more and broader series of tests in order to improve our experiment's scientific significance.
Gas chromatography uses the interaction of different chemical substances provoked by their chemical polarity or unpolarity. When a sample is injected, it meets two other substances. On the one hand, there is a inert or unreactive carrier gas, the mobile phase. The samples as well as the carrier gas stream through a column that contains the stationary phase, a microscopic layer of liquid or polymer on an inert solid support. Due to different intensities of the interaction of the individual substances of the sample and the stationary phase, these substances elute the column at a particular time for each compound. This retention time is characteristic of each substance so that it is possible to investigate the composition of a sample as well as the quantity of the individual components based on this time.
Our own gas chromatograph is based on a self-construction kit made for educational purposes (e.g. chemistry classes at school) that suggests air as an inexpensive and easily accessible carrier gas. Obviously, this cannot work out for our mission of analysing an air sample. Consequently, we have replaced it by helium. Helium as an inert, unreactive and noble gas is usually the most commonly used carrier gas for gas chromatography. It is also very suitable for our particular analyse because air contains helium only as a trace gas with an amount of 0.000425% that is not that interesting for our particular investigation. Helium emerges at every radioactive alpha-decay. The tiny atom rises from the ground and as it is much more lightweight than the other components of the air, it can quickly escape the atmosphere and get into space. These circumstances make the gas quite irrelevant not only for our mission of investigating whether there is life "outside of earth", but also for someone observing the environment in the framework of climate change, air pollution and so on.
Having chosen helium as the carrier gas, we faced the challenge of adapting the gas chromatograph itself to the change of the mobile phase. While the stationary phase that is provided in the kit is unaffected of any modifications, the technical settings of the measuring device had to be adjusted. As the whole system is usually supposed to work with air, this constellation up to now has got the best performance in precision and error susceptibility. In the last time, we have experimented with different settings and are in close contact to the manufacturer of our self-construction kit so that we are now receiving pretty reliable chromatograms (although improvements are still to come). Using different equilibrium reactions involving calcium chloride, we prepared samples of different air humidity. When we measured the humidity with our sensor SHT15 and then compared it to our graphs, we were able to see a very clear tendency of a large surface area of the peak at low humidity and, the other way rund, a small surface area at high humidity. In the last few weeks before launch, we will expand this procedure and create more and broader series of tests in order to improve our experiment's scientific significance.
Thursday, 2 June 2016
FDR and Team Interview
During the last time, we were busy drawing up, on the one hand, our Final Design Review (for a description of the CanSat design reviews, please see the previous post "Finishing our CDR") and, on the other, our team interview.
A "Meet the Team" section, including the team interview, can be found on ESA's website: http://www.esa.int/Education/CanSat/Meet_the_team_URSinvestigators
One question regarding the team's strenghts and weaknesses had to be answered in a video. Therefore, we created a YouTube channel (see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCufdFMZZDnvg6qiVhIeaI0g). Besides the video that is there already, we plan to upload several videos on our test plan as well as triggering mechanism.
A "Meet the Team" section, including the team interview, can be found on ESA's website: http://www.esa.int/Education/CanSat/Meet_the_team_URSinvestigators
One question regarding the team's strenghts and weaknesses had to be answered in a video. Therefore, we created a YouTube channel (see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCufdFMZZDnvg6qiVhIeaI0g). Besides the video that is there already, we plan to upload several videos on our test plan as well as triggering mechanism.
Monday, 30 May 2016
Parachute
Today, we met and completed our parachute. After having finished sewing, we decided to add to the central hole several small ones. They are arranged circular around the central hole as this model of a round canopy parachute appears to have the best flight stability.
As there is no drag coefficent for parachutes of this design a calculation of the exact size of the parachute and the holes was not possible. Therefore, we developed a testing concept for measuring the air resistance with an air velocoty of 11 m/s.
Within the test, we drove with a convertible. We arranged an anemometer next to our parachute that was attached to a dynanometer, The latter one running with the CassyLab software. In the beginning our parachute had holes which surely would be too small. Within the test, we enlarged them until the air resistance was as big as needed.
The test was very succesful. This is what our parachute finally looks like:
As there is no drag coefficent for parachutes of this design a calculation of the exact size of the parachute and the holes was not possible. Therefore, we developed a testing concept for measuring the air resistance with an air velocoty of 11 m/s.
Within the test, we drove with a convertible. We arranged an anemometer next to our parachute that was attached to a dynanometer, The latter one running with the CassyLab software. In the beginning our parachute had holes which surely would be too small. Within the test, we enlarged them until the air resistance was as big as needed.
The test was very succesful. This is what our parachute finally looks like:
Sunday, 29 May 2016
Successful Project Day
Today we met in order to successfully complete several aspects of our misssion.Triggering Mechanism
Our
final triggering mechanism is composed of a servo motor whose rotation is
converted into a linear vertical movement of the Vacuette, which is guided
through a mounting. This conveyance is ensured by a fixed split pin. The
interaction can be compared to the mechanism of an engine relating to the
mechanism of a crankshaft and a connecting rod. The Vacuette is then to be
broached by the cannula. In order to seal the Vacuette, the servomotor rotates
in the counter direction. To ensure the stability of the system, the cannula is
fixed in both vertical directions. A sufficient force exerted by the servomotor
is necessary as the membrane is quite hard to be pushed through. This is what we were about to test today. It is proven that the exerted force is enough. The vacuette moved 0.53 cm what it satisfying as this is a
distance we can work with very well. Nevertheless, we modified the servomotor
so that it is able to turn 360 degrees and can cover a distance of about 1 cm,
even though the opening angle it is not aligned perfectly in the direction of
movement. Structural Design
Due to the realization of our final triggering mehanism, we were able to completely finish the 3D-mounting of our CanSat. It is going to be printed tomorrow. Aftwerwards, the several components are to be fitted into the can. In case they cannot be perfectly placed into the mounting due to measuring inaccuracies, the 3D model is to be modified.
Video Editing- Team Interview
The video for our team interview can be found on our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn8shQxSHdA
Saturday, 21 May 2016
team interview, structural design, triggering mechanism
Currently, we are preparing our team interview which will be published on ESA's website in the following weeks. Therefore, we met today and developed a script for the video. We we are going to record it in our project room in the course of the next week.
Generating our CanSat's structural design has been quite productive. We established a CAD-model employing SolidWorks.
Furthermore, we finished the design of our triggering mechanism by finally perfectioning a mecanism in order to effectively transmit the servomotor´s power and convert the rotation into vertical movement. An interaction of fixed split pins can be compared to the mechanism of a crankshaft and connection rods. Consequently, the preproduction model has been optimized. We are going to inform you on the final machanism soon.
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| preproduction model |
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| sketch of triggering mechanism |
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
gas chromatograph and data transmission
Today, there was no school for all of us due to oral exams for the graduating students. Therefore, we decided to meet in school and work on our CanSat.
Firstly, we finished the construction of our gas chromatograph which will be used for analyzing the air samples taken by our CanSat. We have ordered a construction kit and already built some parts of the whole arrangement just as the measuring device within the last few weeks.
At the start, we finished assembling and soldering the measuring board:
The received results are satisfying and showed the functionality of our gas chromatograph (the gas chromatograph's functionality). We will continue to test and to adjust it to our specific requirements in the following weeks.
During the day, we also tested the data transmission between our CanSat and the antenna. We specially focused on checking if the newly bought transmitter and receiver modules work smoothly. Therefore, we created a test program and applied it to a test concerning a distance of 200m.
Finally, we redeveloped our first ideas of our can's interior design.
Friday, 29 April 2016
Finishing our CDR
During the last time, we were quite stressed out working on our CDR, a report that has to be sent to ESA by Sunday, 1 May.
To give those of you who aren't familiar with the
various procedures during the CanSat-competition a little insight, here comes
an overview on the reports that each individual team has to deliver.
In the Progress Report, the team has to deliver a short Progress Statement about how things are going on that will later be published on ESA's website. In addition to this, there is a rather detailed Project Status, explaining problems, plans and current tasks about their mission's individual components as well as a Task List.
The Design Document includes specific descriptions and explanation about each task that has to be fulfilled. There is a Team Introduction explaining the team's structure and goals, a CanSat Description including for example the mechanical, electrical and software design, a Project Plannig section stating for example a time schedule as well as a test plan and, finally, the Outreach Programme.
In addition to the text, there can be pictures, logos, short videos etc.
Given that these reports are an important part of the jury's basis for evaluation, we spent multiple hours writing the individual texts, searching for pictures and coordinating our teamwork. Up to now, we have managed to set up a preliminary result. During the two days to come, it will be revised and corrected before sending it to ESA .
Friday, 15 April 2016
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Improving our triggering mechanism
During
the last few weeks, we've made some progress concerning our triggering mechanism. We perfected our
idea of a mechanism with a servomotor and created a preproduction model.
The preproduction model that is currently being finished is necessary to prove whether this mechanism is the most suitable and has got the least potential difficulties. It allows us to pre-identify problematic areas and to improve whatever does not work perfectly. In addition to that, it is a great display item and can be used within the framework of our outreach programme for exhibitions as well as for concrete explanations during the presentations of the Launch Campaign.
As soon as possible, we will test our triggering mechanism using the preproduction model. We are confident that this (or a slightly modified procedure) will be our final triggering mechanism and we hope that the tests will be as successful as we expect.
Therefore, our current
triggering mechanism is composed of a servomotor whose rotation is converted
into a linear vertical movement of the vacuette, which is guided through a
mounting. It is then to be broached by the cannula. In order to seal the vacuette, the servomotor rotates in the counter direction. To ensure the
stability of the system, the cannula is fixed in both vertical directions. A
sufficient force exerted by the servomotor is necessary as the membrane is
quite hard to be punctured (as described in the previous post). The following graphic shows the development of our triggering mechanisms:
The preproduction model that is currently being finished is necessary to prove whether this mechanism is the most suitable and has got the least potential difficulties. It allows us to pre-identify problematic areas and to improve whatever does not work perfectly. In addition to that, it is a great display item and can be used within the framework of our outreach programme for exhibitions as well as for concrete explanations during the presentations of the Launch Campaign.
As soon as possible, we will test our triggering mechanism using the preproduction model. We are confident that this (or a slightly modified procedure) will be our final triggering mechanism and we hope that the tests will be as successful as we expect.
Thursday, 31 March 2016
Progress!
This month, we met multiple times in order to work on our project, including two meetings during our holidays this week that very quite efficient.
Our present challenges are choosing and implementing a proper procedure for taking our air samples, getting an overview of all components that have to fit in our CanSat and also preparing the CDR report that has to document our mission, procedure and progress to ESA.
We split up tasks so that while parts of the team wrote the report or constructed the CanSat's components with a 3D-modeling software called SolidWorks, others developed multiple ways of implementation of a proper triggering mechanism of the air samples.
The air samples will be taken with vacuettes, very solid plastic containers that are pre-evacuated and that have got a membrane that closes very tightly after it is punctured. Given that this membrane is very thick and tough (see photo below), it is quite difficult to do so.
On the one hand, it is almost impossible to puncture the material with rather thick needles or similar equipment, so given that vacuettes are made to work with cannulas, we choose to also work with cannula needles.
On the other hand, very great strength is needed to do the punctation. Up to now, we have discarded the procedure with a rotating panel that was mentioned in a previous post as well as another that would have been solenoid-run because they don't provide enough strength to punctate the vacuette as well as secure the air samples. We currently think of a servomotor-run mechanism. Being provided 9V only, the servomotor (see below) is much stronger than e.g. solenoids.
We are hopeful and optimistic that this procedure will work out, so in the next time, we'll prepare an experimental setup including a vacuette, cannula and servomotor in order to test the mechaism and its strength. And of course, we'll always keep you updated!
Our present challenges are choosing and implementing a proper procedure for taking our air samples, getting an overview of all components that have to fit in our CanSat and also preparing the CDR report that has to document our mission, procedure and progress to ESA.
We split up tasks so that while parts of the team wrote the report or constructed the CanSat's components with a 3D-modeling software called SolidWorks, others developed multiple ways of implementation of a proper triggering mechanism of the air samples.
The air samples will be taken with vacuettes, very solid plastic containers that are pre-evacuated and that have got a membrane that closes very tightly after it is punctured. Given that this membrane is very thick and tough (see photo below), it is quite difficult to do so.
On the one hand, it is almost impossible to puncture the material with rather thick needles or similar equipment, so given that vacuettes are made to work with cannulas, we choose to also work with cannula needles.
We are hopeful and optimistic that this procedure will work out, so in the next time, we'll prepare an experimental setup including a vacuette, cannula and servomotor in order to test the mechaism and its strength. And of course, we'll always keep you updated!
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Rosetta-Webconference at DLR's
Today, we visited the DLR (Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum) in Cologne in order to participate in an international webconference about the Rosetta / Philae mission.
After having arrived at about 10am, we were welcomed by the organisators and could get comfortable. We were glad to have the unique opportunity of taking a look at models and the team's project room.
During the webconference itself, there were three project leaders who gave presentations about different aspects of the mission. The audience consisted of ten student groups from all over the world that were connected via webcams and a live-chat. There were groups from Italy, Poland, Germany, Australia, Sudan, Austria and Egypt. As we were able to participate live at the DLR, we sat behind the project leaders. After the introductary presentations, we were all free to ask questions.
To conclude, we can definetly say that we had a great time today and learned a lot about the Rosetta / Pilae mission. It was even more interesting considering the fact that parts our our CanSat-mission were directly inspired by this one.
We would really like to thank the DLR, espacially Mr Zywicki, for offering us the great opportunity to participate in this conference.
If you wish to get some information on the mission, we recommend the following websites:
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/ (a blog by the European Space Agency about the mission)
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta (information about the mission - official ESA website)
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10394/ (information about the mission - official DLR website)
After having arrived at about 10am, we were welcomed by the organisators and could get comfortable. We were glad to have the unique opportunity of taking a look at models and the team's project room.
During the webconference itself, there were three project leaders who gave presentations about different aspects of the mission. The audience consisted of ten student groups from all over the world that were connected via webcams and a live-chat. There were groups from Italy, Poland, Germany, Australia, Sudan, Austria and Egypt. As we were able to participate live at the DLR, we sat behind the project leaders. After the introductary presentations, we were all free to ask questions.
To conclude, we can definetly say that we had a great time today and learned a lot about the Rosetta / Pilae mission. It was even more interesting considering the fact that parts our our CanSat-mission were directly inspired by this one.
We would really like to thank the DLR, espacially Mr Zywicki, for offering us the great opportunity to participate in this conference.
If you wish to get some information on the mission, we recommend the following websites:
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/ (a blog by the European Space Agency about the mission)
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta (information about the mission - official ESA website)
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10394/ (information about the mission - official DLR website)
Monday, 8 February 2016
Interview at WDR - Update
The interview will be published tomorrow: Tuesday, 9th February between 3.05 and, 5 pm (WDR, "Leonardo"). It is available on the internet:
Friday, 5 February 2016
Interview at WDR
Today, we visited the WDR studios in Cologne. We had been invited to an interview about our CanSat work by a team member of the science programme "Leonardo" (radio station WDR5).
It was real fun talking about our time during the preparations for the 2015 competition as well as about the Launch Campaign in Bremen.
It was real fun talking about our time during the preparations for the 2015 competition as well as about the Launch Campaign in Bremen.
Later on, we went to the Cologne city centre in order to find sponsors. - If you are interested in supporting our mission, or know someone who might be, we would be really happy if you contacted us.
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