Avionics Design of a Sub-Orbital Launch and Recovery System

The current goal of our student team, Orbital Labs, is to design a platform to enable rapid, affordable, and accessible microgravity and high-altitude experiments for industry, researchers, and students. Microgravity manufacturing efforts continue to grow given many manufacturing processes can obtain higher yield while creating materials that are otherwise impossible to replicate in a terrestrial environment. In addition, waste and other byproducts that come because of these processes are nearly reduced to zero. These improvements in manufacturing aim to benefit life on Earth, with many applications impacting Pharmaceutical, Semiconductor, and Telecommunications Industries. Orbital Labs' payload and recovery Capsule requires our team to follow through the design cycle of an Avionics Controller responsible for power distribution, monitoring environmental conditions, managing communications, and deploying the recovery system. The Avionics Controller will be put through serious tests for long range communication, precision load control, fault handling, parachute deployment, payload communication and much more.