Category:Avionics

Avionics manages the brains of all our Rockets. Within the avionics section, we discuss both flight computers and ground stations.

The flight computer sits in the nose cone of the rocket and will govern when to deploy drogue and main parachutes.

Flight Computers

The flight computer is what typically sits in the nose cone of the rocket and is responsible for calculating altitude/velocity of the rocket, and relaying this information back to ground. Additionally, it is the role of the flight computer to use the altitude/velocity estimations to determine when to deploy the parachutes within the rocket to ensure a safe recovery.

Ground Stations

The ground station is responsible for any avionics-related tasks required on the ground. Primarily, this is to decipher radio packets being transmitted from the flight computer and sending it over USB to a laptop so we can view the data in real-time. Depending on the team, a rocket may require ground stations that serve other purposes. For Project Olympus, the ground station Quail was used to manage the fill of the liquid engine.

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