2 layers140 × 60 mm Flight computer, the printed circuit board in 3D

Flight computer

Q: How big is the Flight computer PCB?

It measures 140 × 60 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.

Q: What parts does the Flight computer use?

44 parts, built around the ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R2, BMP585, LSM6DS3 and RFM95W-915S2. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Q: Where can I download the Flight computer KiCad files?

From the Serra-Rocketry/flight-computer repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is hardware/electronics/electronics/electronics.kicad_pcb and its schematic hardware/Telemetria Foguete/Telemetria Foguete.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Q: Can I use the Flight computer design in my own project?

Its repository publishes it under the MIT licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).

Serra-Rocketry/flight-computer

[Telemetry] Onboard flight computer for rocket avionics.

Open in PCBKit

Size: 140 × 60 mm
Copper layers: 2
Thickness: 1.6 mm
Parts: 44
Nets: 57
Pads: 138
Tracks, vias: 202, 0
Pours: 1
Routed: Yes
KiCad: KiCad 10.0 (file 20260206)
Created: 4 Nov 2025
Updated: 5 Nov 2026

Overview

Flight computer is an open-source printed circuit board by Serra-Rocketry, from the Serra-Rocketry/flight-computer repository on GitHub, published under the MIT licence. It is a 2-layer board of 140 × 60 mm with 44 parts on 57 nets, routed with 202 tracks and 0 vias.

It is built around the ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R2, BMP585 and LSM6DS3, with the RFM95W-915S2 and BC547 among its other parts. Its parts include 7 ICs, 1 resistor, 1 transistor, 1 connector and 1 switch. It belongs with the ESP32 boards of this library.

Main components

README

README.md

Avionics — Onboard Computer

v2.0 Flight Computer for Serra Rocketry (#11 - Dedalo).

OOP + FreeRTOS + 4-state FSM, validated against real flight data. Built for the ESP32-S3.

Overview

Real-time avionics firmware for a sounding rocket. Runs on an ESP32-S3 under FreeRTOS, reading barometric (BMP585), inertial (LSM6DS3) and GPS (NEO-8M) sensors to detect flight events and deploy the parachute at apogee.

Flight state machine: IDLE → ASCENT → DESCENT → LANDED, with sub-event flags (liftoff, burnout, apogee, freefall, parachute)
Parachute deployment: Apogee + stable negative Vz, 3-cycle confirmation, 50 m ground guard — validated against RocketPy + real flight data points
Telemetry: 22-field CSV over LoRa @ 915 MHz to ground receiver
Logging: SD card (primary) with LittleFS flash fallback
Safety: NaN/Inf rejection, sensor fallback, TWDT watchdog, multi-condition parachute logic

Architecture

text

firmware/
├── firmware.ino          # setup()/loop() — orchestrates init*Task()
├── config.h              # Pins, thresholds, radio parameters
├── sensors/              # ISensor implementations (BMP585, LSM6DS3, GPS)
├── flight/               # FreeRTOS tasks + FlightStateMachine
├── modules/              # Actuators/peripherals (servo, LoRa, buzzer, FS)
└── docs/architecture.md  # v2.0 architecture (consolidated from REFACTORING_PLAN.md)

Two FreeRTOS cores with queue-based communication:

Core	Task	Priority	Rate	Responsibility
1	`FlightControlTask`	20	5 Hz	Sensors + FSM + parachute + watchdog
0	`TelemetryTask`	5	5 Hz	GPS enrichment + LoRa + file + Serial
0	`LoggerTask`	1	—	Async log queue with level filter

Quick Start

Arduino IDE (recommended)

Board: ESP32-S3 Dev Module (enable "USB CDC On Boot")
Open firmware/firmware.ino
Install libraries: Adafruit BMP5xx, Adafruit LSM6DS3, TinyGPS++, ESP32Servo, LoRa by Sandeep Mistry
Compile (Ctrl+R) and upload (Ctrl+U)

Validate without hardware

bash

python3 extras/FSM_tester/FSM_Tester.py       # FSM against 1,873 real data points
python3 extras/validate_telemetry_format.py    # 22-field telemetry alignment

Key Specifications

Parameter	Value
FlightControl rate	5 Hz (200 ms)
Telemetry rate	5 Hz (200 ms)
Parachute confirm	3 consecutive Vz < −2 m/s
Ground guard	50 m AGL
LoRa frequency	915 MHz (Brazil/Americas ISM)
LoRa config	SF7, BW 125 kHz, CR 4/5, CRC on, +17 dBm
Storage	SD card (SPI) → LittleFS fallback
Sensor queue	25 slots (∼2.4 KB)
Log queue	50 slots (∼7.2 KB)

Documentation

docs/software.md — Software architecture |- docs/hardware.md — Hardware specs, pinout, BOM |- docs/architecture.md — Architecture spec (consolidated) |- docs/modules.md — Module reference |- docs/flowchart.md — FreeRTOS + FSM flow diagram
AGENTS.md — AI agent coding guide
CONTRIBUTING.md — How to contribute

Repository Layout

text

firmware/   v2.0 firmware (OOP + FreeRTOS + FSM)
test/       Hardware validation sketches (sensors, servo, FSM)
docs/       software.md, hardware.md, telemetry-format.md, flowchart.md
hardware/   KiCad schematic + PCB + BOM
extras/     Scripts, FSM tester, format validator, emergency deploy

Status

All refactoring plan phases are complete — v2.0 is fully implemented and documented. See CHANGELOG.md for the full release history.

Team

Serra Rocketry — IPRJ/UERJ

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Parts

Qty	Value	Footprint	References
29	TestPoint_THTPad_D1.5mm_Drill0.7mm	TestPoint:TestPoint_THTPad_D1.5mm_Drill0.7mm	3.3V, 3.3V, 5V, 5V, BZZ, CS LORA, CS LORA, CS SD, CS SD, DIO0, DIO0, DIO0, DIO0, GND, GND, GND +13
2	Parachute_Servo	Connector_JST:JST_EH_B3B-EH-A_1x03_P2.50mm_Vertical	M1, M2
1	1k	Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0204_L3.6mm_D1.6mm_P5.08mm_Horizontal	R1
1	BC547	Package_TO_SOT_THT:TO-92_Inline	Q1
1	BMP585	electronics:BMP585	U2
1	Buzzer	Buzzer_Beeper:Buzzer_12x9.5RM7.6	BZ1
1	Conn_Coaxial_Small	Connector_Coaxial:BNC_TEConnectivity_1478204_Vertical	J1
1	ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R2	ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R8:ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R8	U5
1	GPS M8N	electronics:GPS N8M	U6
1	LSM6DS3	electronics:LSM6DS3	U3
1	MINI 560 STEP DOWN	electronics:STEP DOWN MINI 560	U7
1	RBF	Button_Switch_THT:SW_XKB_DM1-16UP-1	SW1
1	RFM95W-915S2	RF_Module:HOPERF_RFM9XW_THT	U1
1	SD Card mini module	electronics:SD Card mini module	U4

The 43 most common of 44 parts.

Questions

How big is the Flight computer PCB?

It measures 140 × 60 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.

What parts does the Flight computer use?

44 parts, built around the ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1-N8R2, BMP585, LSM6DS3 and RFM95W-915S2. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Where can I download the Flight computer KiCad files?

From the Serra-Rocketry/flight-computer repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is hardware/electronics/electronics/electronics.kicad_pcb and its schematic hardware/Telemetria Foguete/Telemetria Foguete.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Can I use the Flight computer design in my own project?

Its repository publishes it under the MIT licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).

Category and platform

ESP32

Project files

Show this board on your page

A live frame, for any web page

<iframe src="https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/serra-rocketry-flight-computer-electronics-2" title="Flight computer in PCBKit" width="100%" height="480" style="border:0;border-radius:12px" allow="fullscreen" loading="lazy"></iframe>

A picture

<img src="https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/serra-rocketry-flight-computer-electronics-2.jpg" alt="Flight computer" width="1200" height="900">

A picture that opens the board, for a README

[![Flight computer](https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/serra-rocketry-flight-computer-electronics-2.jpg?size=s)](https://pcbkit.io/boards/serra-rocketry-flight-computer-electronics-2)

Source

Repository: Serra-Rocketry/flight-computer
Board file: hardware/electronics/electronics/electronics.kicad_pcb
Commit: ac1b1c0
Licence: MIT

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