November Newsletter

Overview

PAST has been returning to full project and event mode following the end of exams and semester 2! November has been filled with more busy development sessions and reflections, as well as fun social events and ideas to build PAST’s growing member count and student engagement.

Image of some PAST members at the Habathon. (From Left to Right) Indi, Aman, Jack, Bill.

ADCS Advancements

Members working on the Helmholtz cage and air bearing are undergoing research into materials, dimensions and cost-effective construction methods. The magnetorquer testing board has been in the works, with the power plane of the PCB being changed to 5V following suggestions from test results. The magnetorquer test board is an independent driver, which will be used to demonstrate detumbling and test the magnetorquers capabilities on the HAB next year. Components of the magnetorquer PCB are in procurement and ADCS members plan to coil wind the magnetorquer rods in early December.

Lots of work on the detumbling algorithm, and simulations of different potential algorithms, were done to select the most optimal choice. Members have been studying dynamic modelling and control to assist with the algorithm, as well as researching into the Kalman filter and calculating Euler angles from magnetometer and accelerometer data.

A 3D visualisation of the Magnetorquer PCB from Altium

Mechanical Progress

The design for the deployable solar panels was completed, with a prototype done during Habathon. The HAB chassis, essential for the structural stability of the HAB, was finished with some redesigning done after discussing improvements. A new STARCOMM design was finished and burn resistor boards were ordered, with soldering and a deployment test following once the boards arrived.

Mechanical Representative, Sam, holding up the base of the HAB chassis.

Avionics Developments

Avionics members have been discussing and planning for aspects of BMS including voltage, current and temperature requirements and implementation, battery heating, fuel gauge IC and charge. Lots of work on the schematic has been done, with components obtained and circuits being constructed. BMS has also been working on the battery testing, including components for the testers as well as researching more details on the batteries.

Members of GLoBE finished working on getting the STM32 drivers to support UART and I2C, and rigorously tested and acquired data of the GNSS module while moving around. More testing and report writing was done to get ESP32 working with GLoBE.

The ground station antenna, part of STARCOMM, has been moving along very well with its working frequencies tested and identified, yagi antenna built and PCBs arrived. Schematics and PCB designs for FISH are in progress.

Screenshot of the Sky Reach Operating on Radio Frequency Bands.

Team Branding and Engagement

More planning is in the works for some filming, with the vision for the full project to be revealed in due time. A new banner, to be used at events to showcase the team, has been made with updated text and an improved design, and marketing posters have been designed which will begin to pop up around campus in early December.

Events and Team Building

Habathon ran from the 11-13th and was a very successful event with many members coming in to collaborate and work on their respective projects. The busy and engaging schedule kept everyone on task and ready to showcase their work to the rest of the team and BINAR’s principal investigator Phil Bland in a presentation on the final day. The official name of our first HAB was also revealed to be Stratos! Congratulations to the team for all their hard work towards ensuring Stratos has the best chance of success during its launch. 

Our HR team has created a survey for all PAST members to complete, aiming to gain feedback on the productivity, unity, workload and structure of the team at the moment. Members’ opinions are valuable tools to influence future constitution changes and improving the efficiency of everyone’s work. A summary of the survey will be coming in the later months to see the general trends in everyone’s views.

A very successful PAST bouldering night was also held at the end of the month, with members heading to Portside Willetton for a fun and well-deserved evening of team building, climbing walls and falling off them. 

Photo of the PAST team at our Bouldering Socials Event at Portside Boulders Willetton.

Looking Ahead

PAST will be holding its 4th General Meeting in early December to review the constitution and recap on what the team has been working on this month. Before the Christmas break kicks off, the team will also be presenting to the Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC) and showcasing some of our projects.