Design Process of the avionics subsystem of Colibrí mission: An experience report.

Abstract

Abstract Universidad Panamericana students are working in the design and build process of a nanosatellite, specifically a CubeSat, a common trend for the aerospace industry that started rising in the last decade. While many of the common problems of an aerospace mission are solved or diminished considerably by the CubeSat standards, there is still a lot of development required to reach each of the objectives of a particular mission, especially those focused on scientific research. Regarding the avionics subsystem, custom development is needed to allow for the integration of the payload subsystem, which is mission specific, as well as general-purpose Commercial Off The Shelf components. Providing a reliable, robust and efficient integration represents the biggest challenge for the design of the avionics subsystem. In this paper the avionics team presents experiences and challenges that they have faced and how they lead to the development of a completely new component, a Printed Circuit Board with a Field-Programmable Gate Array controlling, reading and sampling the fast and heavy data provided by the payload sensors in order to lighten, adequate and deliver the information to and for the satellite On Board Computer. Additionally, the interconnection between all electronic components of the satellite, at physical level (wiring design, environmental and electromagnetic compatibility), as well as the logical compatibility and feasibility of the components that will be exchanging commands and data through different communication protocols. Finally, this paper presents how Colibri Mission has an academic impact since it had to solve those challenges without the experience that most CubeSat missions have, and how the spread of that knowledge opens the CubeSat industry to a country that previously was not able to participate on it.