RocketPower

RocketPower

An active fin control flight computer for model rockets.

A model rocket built from the ground up: custom flight computer, custom PCB, active fin control for in-flight stabilization, and a full hardware-in-the-loop test rig.

Status: in bench and hardware-in-the-loop validation ahead of first flight.

🔧 Putting it together

🚀 What it does

• Active fin control. An ARM Cortex-M7 flight computer runs a PD controller on quaternion-derived tilt plus gyro rate, driving 4 independent servo fins in real time for active stabilization during ascent.
• Redundant recovery. Apogee detection runs on multiple independent signals, each able to trigger deployment on its own.
• Hardware-in-the-loop testing. A custom 6DOF Simulink model drives the real flight computer over serial, so the control loop gets validated before it ever has to fly.
• Custom PCB. IMU, barometer, high-g accelerometer, GPS, power monitoring, pyro firing and continuity, and LoRa telemetry, all on one board.
• Ground station. A PyQt6 desktop app for live telemetry, 3D orientation, and command/control.

🧠 Architecture

Every sensor feeds one MCU; that MCU runs the active fin control law and drives every output.

flowchart TD
    classDef sensor fill:#4A90D9,stroke:#2C5F8A,color:#fff
    classDef compute fill:#F5A623,stroke:#B8780F,color:#000
    classDef output fill:#7ED321,stroke:#4C8A14,color:#000
    classDef ext fill:#9B59B6,stroke:#6C3483,color:#fff

    IMU[BNO085 IMU]:::sensor
    BARO[BMP390 Baro]:::sensor
    ACC[ADXL375 Accel]:::sensor
    GPS[ZOEM8 GPS]:::sensor
    PWR[INA260 Power]:::sensor

    subgraph MCU["ARM Cortex-M7 MCU (NXP i.MX RT1062)"]
        FSM[Flight State Machine]:::compute
        CTRL[PD Attitude Controller]:::compute
        PYRO[Pyro + Backup Deploy]:::compute
    end

    FINS[4x Servo Fins]:::output
    CHUTE[Recovery Parachute]:::output

    GS[GroundStation]:::ext
    SIM[Simulink 6DOF]:::ext

🛠️ Hardware

Every subsystem on one custom board: IMU, barometer, high-g accelerometer, GPS, power monitoring, pyro firing/continuity, and telemetry.

🧪 Simulation and testing

Performance is modeled before anything is built, and the same model closes the loop with real hardware once it exists.

A full powered ascent, coast, and parachute deployment, run entirely in hardware-in-the-loop: real flight computer, simulated flight.

_{Where this is headed.}