SlugSight Telemetry System

Complete rocket telemetry system with LoRa transmission, ground station, and dual-redundant data logging for rocket flight data acquisition.

System Overview

This system consists of three main components:

1. Transmitter (TX): Arduino/Feather M4 on the rocket. Collects sensor data, logs to the onboard SD card, and transmits telemetry via LoRa.
2. Receiver (RX): Arduino receiver at the ground station. Receives LoRa packets and forwards them via USB to the host computer.
3. Ground Station Software (GDS): Python software for real-time visualization, dashboard display, and data recording.

Key Features

• Real-time Dashboard: Live visualization of altitude, orientation, and signal strength.
• Dual-Redundant Logging: Saves data to both the Ground Station (CSV) and Onboard SD Card simultaneously.
• GPS Tracking: Live latitude/longitude streaming for recovery.
• Flight Metrics: Automatic tracking of Apogee and Max G-Force.
• Battery Monitoring: Real-time voltage monitoring for the onboard Lithium Ion battery.

Quick Start

1. Upload Firmware

Transmitter:

1. Open firmware/slugsight_tx/slugsight_tx.ino in Arduino IDE.
2. Select board: Adafruit Feather M4 Express.
3. Upload to the rocket Feather M4.

Receiver:

1. Open firmware/slugsight_rx/slugsight_rx.ino in Arduino IDE.
2. Select board: Arduino Uno (or your receiver board).
3. Upload to the receiver Arduino.

2. Install Ground Station Software

It is recommended to use a virtual environment:

cd gds

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate (macOS/Linux)
source venv/bin/activate

# Activate (Windows PowerShell)
.\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run Ground Station

python slugsight_gds.py

Once running, open http://127.0.0.1:8080 in your web browser.

Testing & Verification

Before heading to the launch site, run the integration test suite. This verifies that the parser handles data correctly and that CSV logging is working.

python test_integration.py

Expected Output: OK (All tests passed).

Directory Structure

The project is organized as follows:

slugsight_telemetry/
├── README.md                          # Main system documentation
├── FLIGHT_GUIDE.md                    # Flight day checklist and procedures
├── firmware/                          # Arduino Source Code
│   ├── slugsight_tx/                  # Rocket Transmitter Code
│   │   └── slugsight_tx.ino
│   └── slugsight_rx/                  # Ground Receiver Code
│       └── slugsight_rx.ino
└── gds/                               # Ground Station Software
    ├── requirements.txt               # Python dependencies
    ├── slugsight_gds.py               # Main Ground Station Application
    └── flight_data/                   # Telemetry Logs (Auto-generated)
        └── slugsight_YYYYMMDD_...csv

Safety Notes

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

1. Radio Regulations: Verify the 915 MHz ISM band is legal for use in your specific region.
2. Flight Safety: Adhere to all NAR/TRA safety codes and local regulations.
3. Range Testing: Always perform a ground range test of the LoRa system before flight.
4. Backup Systems: Avionics should be considered a secondary payload. Always use backup recovery systems (e.g., motor ejection or redundant altimeters).
5. Battery Safety: Monitor Lithium Ion battery voltage closely. Do not fly if voltage is below 3.7V. Ensure batteries are secured and protected from impact.

License

This project is dual-licensed:

1. Firmware (firmware/): The Arduino transmitter and receiver code is licensed under the GPLv3 (GNU General Public License v3.0) to comply with the RadioHead library dependency.
2. Ground Station (gds/): The Python ground station software and documentation are licensed under the MIT License.

Support and Credits

Developed for the UCSC Rocket Team (SlugSight Avionics). For issues, please utilize the GitHub Issues tracker.