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REXUS 20

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DSC03210_B1_k_oDOn Saturday afternoon all experiments of REXUS 20 were ready to be finally mounted together. The payload was raised in a vertical position and a system check was succesfully performed. In the evening there was the Motor Mating when payload and rocket motor where put together.
Now on Monday morning there was the REXUS 20 Roll Out. Now the rocket is on its launch position for final tests (the cold countdown).
First launch opportunity will be on Tuesday.

Launch Campaign – First Days

Preparations, Tests and some more Tests

at Esrange Space Center 08th to 10th March 2016
The first days of the REXUS launch campaign were used for individual experiment preparations and different tests of either a single experiment or the whole rocket.

DSC02908_k_oDOn Tuesday morning we moved to our working place in the church (a large hall where all REXUS 19 and 20 teams got their space for their preparations).
There we unpacked the materials, tools and spare parts from Würzburg and soon we built up the system we used for testing.
We also got back our experiment module we hadn’t seen since January.
Its software had to be updated as we prepared some improvements during the last weeks at home.
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Another main task was to focus the cameras to infinity as this will be needed during flight when the earth will be about 80km away.
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Two Weeks of Intensive Work

PATHOS_complete
For the Integration Week the mechanical set up of the PATHOS had to be completed. So the team spent some weeks of intensive work to complete the set up and to ensure that the basic functions of the experiment are implemented.
Likewise some more software enhancements where done. In that context the Ground Station appearance changed.
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Extension Board

Our horizon detection and vector calculation algorithm runs on a small OVERO board. To operate it we need connections to the other systems of the PATHOS experiment. These are placed on the extension board which will be connected to the OVERO (small board in the pictures).
To fit our requirement of a system as small as possible our team member Dominik Wagner designed the extension board on his own.

Power Distribution Unit

PDU

Just in time for the integration progress an important component arrived: the Power Distribution Unit. (PDU)
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First Thermal Vacuum Test


We used our first thermal vacuum test to prove, that the components we have choosen as …
  • On-board Computer
  • Camera
  • Board to run the horizon detection algorithm

… are able to withstand the temperature and pressure conditions that can occure during launch campaign and flight.
The components were heated to 60°C, a temperature that can occure within the rocket during flight. Later they were cooled down to -40°C, what can be ambient temperature during countdown in Sweden.
Additionally the components were under low pressure conditions.
Test Items

PATHOS at Garmin

Presentation Garmin

Presentation at Garmin Würzburg Days
Three team members introduced the experiment PATHOS to the staff of Garmin Würzburg. The presentation covered the background of the project in the context of space technology and the technical aspects of PATHOS. The REXUS/BEXUS programme with its purpose and organisation was presented too.
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About the project

PATHOS is a students’ experiment for the REXUS-program of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB).
During the next 18 months a team of eight students will design and build this experiment that will fly on the REXUS rocket.

The team

PATHOS Team

PATHOS Team:
back LTR: Elke Heidmann, Liviu Stamat, Dominik Wagner, Moritz Aicher, Jonas Ehnle
front LTR: Bastian Klein, Florian Kunzi (missing Felix Klesen)

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