Telemetry KiCAD Project

View this project on CADLAB.io.

Overview

This repository contains the PCB files for the main Rocket Telemetry project.

Purpose and Motivation

This project aims to create flight-rated PCBs that can collect information about the team's rockets as they are launched.

The primary impetus for this project is to develop a student-designed solution to keep the team from losing rockets. This means that these boards must contain and interface with the electronics required to track and analyze a rocket mid-flight and indicate the rocket landing site location to the team back at the launch site to aid in recovery efforts.

The second purpose of this board is to collect and stream performance data about the rocket during all stages of its flight. This data will come from onboard sensors that measure the rocket’s acceleration, altitude, speed, orientation, etc. This will initially only be stored onboard the rocket, with the long-term goal of feeding a real-time 3D model simulation of the rocket’s flight to the team at the launch site. It should also be a goal to include future capabilities for interfacing with external sensors, such as thermocouples, pressure transducers, cameras, and more.

Inspirations

Initial developments of this board are to be a direct replacement for a Telemetrum V3, with features and design optimizations to be implemented in future revisions.

A Telemetrum V3 is an amateur rocketry telemetry solution from Altus Metrum.

Signal from BPS.Space is a flight computer first and a data collection solution second. It is designed to stream data to the ground station, although it is likely insufficient for the large 10-30k ft class rockets that our team constructs.

An excellent KiCAD tutorial around making a small thumb-drive-sized PCB with an STM32, RF, and USB components: here on YouTube by Phil's Lab and is an excellent tutorial on using circuit design software and the process/approach you go through making something like this. Highly recommended to watch and maybe take some notes on. This is a solid start for our telemetry board.

Features

Physical

• Expected Size: 53 x 69 mm (Arduino Uno)
• Best Size: Around 75 x 25 mm if possible
• Thin/Long is better than Square
• Rectangular shape w/ rounded edges
• Screw Mounting Holes

Primary Components

• STM32 Family Microcontroller
• 900MHz Radio Module
• GPS Receiver
• External RF Antenna Connector

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Magnetometer
• Barometer
• Gyroscope
• Temperature

Data

• Flash Storage Chip for inflight capture
• Micro SD Card Reader for postflight storage
• Debugging/programming header

Power

• Connection to LiPo Packs
• Coin Cell/Capacitor Battery Backup
• No charge controller
• Low-power mode preflight

Companion Documentation

Telemetry Board R&D Documentation Folder - Google Drive

Component Comparison - Google Sheet

Telemetrum V3 Features and Components - Google Doc

Telemetry Board Requirement Brainstorm - Google Doc

Telemetry Notepad - Google Doc