Published PApers

Implementation and Verification of a Versatile GN&C and Flight Software Architecture for an Active Control Launch System

This paper outlines the late-stage development, integration, and test of a Level 2 rocket which serves as an avionics and GN&C test-bed for a canard-based active control vehicle. Given the results of an in-house 6-DOF simulator, preliminary testing began with the characterization of the on-board inertial sensors. The frequency stability of the IMU was determined via Allan Deviation plots which map the bias instability and random walk characteristics. These properties aided in calibrating the inertial sensors for subsequent integration testing and eventual flight. A novel state estimation algorithm was designed to utilize the measurements from the sensors. The PID controller utilizes the estimator to compute the necessary deflections of the canards to maintain the target orientation of the vehicle. Upon implementation of the avionics architecture and corresponding controller, verification of the canard actuation was conducted with hardware-in-the-loop procedures. The result of the study is a robust GN&C and flight software architecture that can be implemented in any launch system that employs canard actuation for active control.

The Road to the Karman Line: Development of Liquid-Fueled propulsion and Flight-Control Systems for Suborbital Launch Vehicles

The Yellow Jacket Space Program (YJSP) is a student run club at the Georgia Institute of Technology with three goals: to promote university level space research, prepare students for the space industry, and advance the frontiers of launch vehicle development. To achieve this, the Propulsion team has been developing the feed system, engine chamber and test stand for the program’s first Liquid Oxygen/Kerosene liquid bi-propellant rocket engine. This engine is pressure-fed and heat-sinked, capable of producing 15kN of thrust. As part of the development program for the liquid-fueled sounding rocket, the Avionics/Flight Dynamics team also require a solid-fueled testbed vehicle for flight testing subsystems. The solid rocket will flight-test 3-degree-of-freedom aerodynamic controls at comparable flight regimes to the liquid-fueled vehicle. The vehicle will also be designed to test communication, data-gathering, and recovery systems. This report describes the conceptual and preliminary design and development of the Propulsion team’s liquid rocket engine as well as the Avionics and Flight Dynamics teams’ testbed vehicle. This report concludes with a discussion about applying the same design methodologies to larger and more complex vehicles

The Yellow Jacket Space Program: Insights into Starting a Student Led Space-Shot Rocketry Team at the Georgia Institute of Technology

The Yellow Jacket Space Program is developing a suborbital sounding rocket to deliver a scientific payload above the 100km Karman Line. As part of the incremental approach toward building a space-shot vehicle, the team is developing a solid rocket testbed and a sub-scale liquid-fueled vehicle to facilitate prototyping and testing of complex subsystems such as avionics, propulsion and recovery. The program intends to promote university-level space research, prepare students for the space industry, and advance the frontiers of launch vehicle development. The team has learned many lessons and experienced unique challenges as a student organization developing launch vehicles.