My name is Mathew Halm, and I am the Director of Avionics for Student Space Systems, an organization of undergraduates at the University of Illinois with the goal of designing and manufacturing rockets capable of reaching space. We have been given the wonderful opportunity to receive parts form Element 14 to build a new Launchbox, an electronic device that will be used to ignite several of our rocket motors from a distance. This device is an integral component to preserving the safety of our launches, and as such we decided to make reliability a high priority for it's design. It has also been designed in compliance with the safety requirements of the National Association of Rocketry, a governing body for amateur high-power rocketry in the United States.
The design for the Launchbox contains two main units. One unit, placed near the launch pad, will deliver the huge amount of current necessary to ignite the motor. This unit will be activated by a handheld controller connected by wire that will be stationed far away with our launch personnel. For safety, the controller requires two keys to activate and will sound a siren to alert those nearby. Circuit diagrams for these components are attached as PDFs.
This week, we received enough parts to begin construction, so over the coming weeks, we'll be posting updates and photographs as we work.
Thank you to Element14 for the help!
| Launchbox2.0.pdf | |
| Controller2.0.pdf |
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