Ground Station Unit

Description

The ground station unit functions as a serial bridge between a PC running Sun Devil Rocketry software and Sun Devil Rocketry custom hardware such as the liquid engine controller or flight computer. The unit communicates with the PC over USB, and to the custom hardware using either ethernet, XBee wireless, or LoRa wireless. This allows for remote communication with the hardware in order to allow for in-flight telemetry or remote monitoring of liquid engine sensors. The unit is equipped with an ARM Cortex-M7 microcontroller for input-output processing.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions: 1.7"x3.7"

Microcontroller: STM32H750VBT6

Processor: ARM Cortex-M7

Maximum Clock Speed: 480 MHz

Memory: 128 kB Flash, 1MB RAM

Supply Voltage: 5V (USB)

Maximum Current Draw: 1A

Connectivity: USB, RS485/Ethernet, XBee, LoRa

Sources and Documentation

Schematic: Ground-Station-Schematic.pdf

Design Doc: Flight-Computer.pdf

PCB Design Files: GitHub

Firmware Source Code: GitHub

Bill of Materials: BOM.pdf, BOM.xlsx

3D Model: Ground-Station.step

Version History

Version 2.0

Updates:

  • Used in 4/27/2023 and 5/12/2023 Liquids static hotfire attempts
  • Added RS485/Ethernet interface for liquids hotfire

Version 1.0

Updates:

  • Initial version
  • Added XBee and LoRa modules