PayloadConceptProposal

EEDA
ShowUsTheMoony
PalmettoScholarsAcademyTeam1

PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
1.0 Introduction
Titan,thelargestmoonofSaturnandmoontheteamiscurrentlystudying,holdsavastamountof
secretsthatscientistshaveyettodiscover.TheUniversityofAlabamainHuntsville(UAH)haslaidouta
challengeforhighschoolstudentstodesignapayloadandchoosescienceobjectivesthatmustbemet.
WeatPalmettoScholarsAcademy,TeamEEDA,acceptedthischallenge.
ThepayloadsnameisPayload66.Therationalebehindthepayloadsnameistopayhomageto
StarWars(andtheinfamousorder66)intributetotheloveandwonderofspacethattheserieshas
broughttogenerationsoffans.
Theteamname,EEDA,isthenameOrbitalAsteroidsconvertedtoabinarynumbersystem,
combinedtoonenumber,thentodecimal,andfinallytohexadecimal.Thesequence748EEDA128was
produced,butitwasdecidedtogetridofthenumbersandonlyuseEEDAastheteamname.
TheteamlogorepresentsEarthandTitan,withtheteamrepresentingtheorbitalsaroundTitan.
Theteamsslogan,Showusthemoony,directlycorrelateswithTitanandtheteam.Sincetheteamis
studyingTitan,amoon,itwasassumedthatassumedthissloganwouldbefitting.
ThepurposeofPayload66istogatherdatapertainingtounderstandingthesystemoftransport
andcompositionoforganicmoleculesbetweentheatmosphereandthesurfaceofthismoonandto
understandthermalactivityintheinteriorofTitan.Thedatagatheredwilldeepentheunderstandingofthe
hydrologicvolatiletransportprocessesfoundduringtheCassiniHuygensTitanmissionin2010when
theydiscoveredtheunusualdistributionoforganicmoleculesinTitansatmosphere.Theywerenotable
toinvestigatefurtherduetothelackofequipment.Inaddition,Payload66willanalyzethethickening
cloudcompositionnotedby2014CassiniHuygensflybymissions.Titanssurfaceandatmospheric
temperatureswillbemeasuredtoseeifevidencecanbeobtainedtodemonstratethata7yearsummeris
abouttooccuronTitan,whichissuspectedtobethecauseoftheunusualdistributionoforganic
molecules.
2.0 ScienceObjectiveandInstrumentation
ScienceObjectives

Measurements

1. Determinetemperaturedifferencesin
surfaceandatmosphereofTitantoseeif
theseasonalchange/onsetofsummeris
approaching
2. Understandthecloudcomposition,
transportofvolatiles,aerosolparticlesin
clouds,andhydrocarboncycle.
3. Determinetheorganicmoleculesandtheir
densitiesintheatmosphere,surface,and
interiorofthemoon
4. Determineatmosphericandsurface
characteristicsoftransportandmovement
oforganicmoleculesbetweenthe
atmosphere,surface,andinteriorofTitan.

1. Recordtemperaturesonsurfaceandin
theatmospheretodetermineifseasonal
change/onsetofsummerisapproaching
2. Analyzecloudcompositionof
thickeningcloudsoverlakesandlook
fordifferencesinmeasurementofcloud
compositionaspayloadmovesoverland
3. Measureandanalyzethetypesand
quantitiesoforganicmoleculesin
atmosphereandonsurfaceandinterior
ofTitan
4. Measureandanalyzethedensityof
moleculesintheatmosphere,surface,
andtheinterior.

Table1.BalloonScienceTraceabilityMatrix
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PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
Instrument
Selected
Atmospheric
Structure
Instrument

MeasurementObjective
Measureorganic
materialsinthe
atmosphere,cloud
composition,andTitans
volatilehydrologiccycle
aspartofasystemof
organicmolecule
movement

Measurement
Requirement
Exposedtothe
atmosphereonthe
sideoftheballoon
payload

ScienceObjective

1.Determinethecomposition
andtransportoforganicvolatile
particleswithindifferent
altitudesoftheatmosphereand
tothesurfacetounderstandthe
transportasasystem
2.Determinethecomposition
anddensityofthecloudsover
Titanslakes
BalloonSlit Mapoutorganicmaterials
Exposedtothe
Determinetheorganicsin
Spectrometer
andanalyzeTitans
atmosphereonthe
concertwithsurfaceimages
volatilehydrologiccycle
sideoftheballoon
fromthesurfaceandthe
aspartofasystemof
payloadwith
atmosphereanddensitiesof
organicmolecule
maximumpossible
thesemoleculesatvarying
movement.
fieldofviewofTitan
altitudes
Table2.PenetratorScienceTraceabilityMatrix
Instrument
Measurement
MeasurementRequirement
ScienceObjective
Selected
Objective
Omega
Collectreadingsonthe
Thisinstrumentwillbe
Gainunderstandingabout
CO1K
temperatureofTitan's
locatedwithinthepenetrator
thetemperatureofTitan's
Thermocouple surfaceanditsinterior
abovethecrumplezonesto
surfaceandinteriorto
maintainintegrityof
determineseasonalchange
instrumentonimpact
tosummer
Table3.BalloonInstrumentRequirements
Mass
Power
DataRate
Instrument
Lifetime
Frequency
Duration
(kg)
(W)
(Mbps)
AtmosphericStructure
1
3
1.96x10^6
5Days
Every30
10Seconds
Instrument
Minutes
BalloonSlit
2.5
11
2.47x10^6
5Days
Every30
10Seconds
Spectrometer
Minutes
OmegaPX1009
.145
.22
5
5Days
Every5
5Seconds
PressureTransducer
Minutes
ISIS
0.094
0.4
N/A
120Hours
Constant
120Hours
OnBoardComputer
DeployableAntenna
0.1
0.02
N/A
120Hours
Constant
20Seconds
System
ISISVHF/UHFDuplex 0.085
1.7
.0096/.0012 120Hours
Constant
120hours
Transmitter/Receiver
Down/Uplink

Table4.PenetratorInstrumentRequirements
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PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
Instrument
Thermocouple
ISISVHF/UHF
Duplex
Transmitter/Receiver
Inertial
MeasurementUnit
Antenna

Mass
(kg)
0.045

Power
(W)
N/A

0.085

1.7

0.013

0.22

100g

0.02

DataRate
(Mbps)
0.95x10^4

Lifetime

Frequency

Duration

5Days

Every30
Minutes
Constant

N/A

.0096
120Hours
Downlink
.0012Uplink
0.16x10^
Until
4
Impact
N/A
120Hours

Constant
UntilImpact

120hours

5Seconds

3.0 PayloadDesignRequirements
FunctionalRequirements

Thepayloadmustbe
abletodeployfromthe
UAHspacecraft
Housetheinstruments
Droppayloadon
surface
Takemeasurements
Providepower
Collectdata
Senddatabackto
UAHlander

ProjectRequirements

EnvironmentalRequirements

Haveamass
nomorethan
15kg
Haveastowed
volumeof44
cmx48cmx
28cm
Nodamageto
thespacecraft

Enduretemperaturesof179
degreesCelsius
Endurepressuresof16,000Pa
Endurewindspeedsof120.7m/s
Endureagravitationalforceof
1.352m/s
Withstandanatmosphere
comprisedof98.4%Nitrogen
andHCN
Endurelowlevelsofradiation
duetothickatmosphere

4.0 AnalysisofAlternatives
Usingthespreadsheet,themassofheliumwascalculatedandthenusedtocreatetheradiusand
diameteroftheballoon.UsingTotexballoondata,theburstaltitudecouldbecalculated.Thiswas
completedfor3alternativesthatwerebasedonsmall,mediumandlowvaluesforballoonsize,necklift,
andpayloadmasssothatanunderstandingoftheirsubsequentburstaltitudesandascentratescouldbe
achieved.Theascentratewascalculatedbasedusingthefollowingequationwhileassumingaconstant
rateofascent:
L(f)representedfreelift,
p
representedthedensityoftheatmosphere,
C
referredto

a
d
2
thecoefficientofdrag,andPi*
r
isthecrosssectionalareaoftheballoon.
Alternative
#1

NeckLift
1.25

Table5.FocusArea#1Results
BalloonSize
PayloadMass BurstAltitude
(g)
(kg)
(km)
1200

Page3

200

AscentRate
(m/sec)
5.1

PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
#2
#3

1.75

3000

100

3.8

2.25

600

15

80

5.4

ForFocusArea#2,theC.W.Youngequationwasusedtofindthedepththatthepenetratorwouldtravel.
Theequationis:D=
0.000018SN(m/A)^0.7(V30.5)
.Disthepenetrationdepthinmeters,Sisthe
penetrabilitynumber,Nisthenoseconecoefficient,mismass,Aisarea,andVisthevelocityofthe
penetratoronimpact.
Table6.FocusArea#2Results
Starting
SurfaceDepth
Alternative PenetratorMass(kg)
PenetratorDiameter(m)
Altitude(km)
(m)
#1

0.75

0.125

70

0.29

#2

2.5

0.05

135

3.46

#3

0.075

35

1.54

5.0 DecisionAnalysis
IndecisionanalysisforeachFigureOfMerit(FOM),theteamdecidedonhowimportanteach
FOMshouldbe.Eachalternativewasdiscussedandgivenascorebasedonhowitfittheneedsofthe
payloadsscienceobjectives.TheFOMswereweightedas1,3,or9,whichrepresentedthetermsofleast
favorable,favorable,andmostfavorable,respectively.Thenalternativeswereratedbytheteamas1,3,
or9,whichrepresentedthetermsoflowpriority,mediumpriority,orhighprioritytotheteam,
respectively.ThealternativevalueswereassignedandthenmultipliedbytheFOMweight,Finally,all
weightedscoreswerethenaddedupinordertohelptheteamfindthealternativethatbestfitthepayload
anditsobjectives.
Forthedecisionanalysisinfocusarea1,theteamagreedthattheburstaltitudewasahigh
priority,andascentratewasamediumpriority.Lowprioritywasgiventoneckliftandballoonsize
becausehighburstaltitudecanbeachievedwithdifferingneckliftsandballoonsizes.Therationale
behindtheseprioritieswastoensurethatthepayloadascendedslowlyandburstatthehighestpossible
altitude,allowingthegreatestamountofdatacollection.
Table7.FocusArea#1DecisionAnalysis
Alternative Alternative Alternative
FigureofMerit
Weight
Preference
#1
#2
#3
NeckLift
1
Enoughtoliftpayload
1
3
3
Bigenoughtonotburstat
BalloonSize
1
3
3
3
lowaltitudes
Lightenoughfortheballoon
PayloadMass
1
3
3
1
toliftandmeetrequirements
BurstAltitude
9
Highburstaltitude
9
3
1
Slowenoughtoprovide
AscentRate
3
9
3
1
adequateresults
Producesenoughelectricity
Batteries
9
3
3
1
tocollectaccuratedata
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PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
Manufacturability

Payloadmustbeconceivable
tobuild
Costreallydoesnotmatter

Cost
1
3
3
3
Likelihoodof
MeetingProject
9
Mustbeconsideredcrucial
9
9
9
Requirements
Likelihoodof
9
Mustbeconsideredcrucial
9
9
3
MissionSuccess
Raw

52
42
26
Total

309
237
193
Forthedecisionanalysisinfocusarea2,thestartingaltitudeofthepenetratorFOMwasthehigh
priority,andthemassofthepenetratorFOMwasthemediumpriority.Lowprioritywasthedepthofthe
penetratorsincetheminimumrequirementsof40cmwouldbemet.Theteamsobjectivesaretodropthe
penetratorfromarelativelylowaltitudeandbelowtheburstaltitude.Alowdropaltitudewouldallowthe
balloonpayloadgetridoftheextrapenetratorweightearlyandstarttoriseslowlyandcollectmoredata.
Table8.FocusArea#2DecisionAnalysis
Alterative Alternative Alternative
FigureofMerit Weight
Preference
#1
#2
#3
Lighterpreferably,butwehave
PenetratorMass
3
3
9
1
someheadroom
Penetrator
Notimportantreally,butnottoo
3
9
3
3
Diameter
bigorsmall
Mustbeenoughtopower
Batteries
3
3
9
1
penetratorlongenoughto
Starting
Lowerpreferedastonotdamage
9
9
9
3
Altitude
thepayload
SurfaceDepth
1
Notimportantastheother
1
3
9
Likelihoodof
MeetingProject
9
Mustbeconsideredcrucial
9
9
9
Requirements
Likelihoodof
Mission
9
Mustbeconsideredcrucial
1
3
9
Success
Raw

35
45
35
Total

217
255
213

6.0 EngineeringAnalysis
WhendesigningPayload66theteamwentthroughmanysteps.First,theinstrumentswere
selected,andtheteamensuredthattheinstrumentschosendidnotgooverthemass,power,orsize
limitations.Theteamcalculatedthe27alternativesutilizingspreadsheets,andwrotecodetoeasilyrun
throughallofthealternativesdata.Theteamthendecidedonhowquicklytheywantedtheballoonand
gondolatoascendandhowhightheteamwantedPayload66tofly.Theteamdecidedonalong,slow
flight,andsothepayloads15kgmasshelpsaccomplishthisgoal.Becausehavingalightpayloadwasnt
importanttheteamtheteamputexcessbatteriesintothepayloadtoallowmoreuseoftheinstruments.

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PayloadConceptProposal
TitanEnvironmentalandAtmosphericMeasurementMission
Theteamdidnothavetoworryaboutpowerduetobeingabletohavebatteriesmeetingtheneedsand
powerrequirementsofPayload66.
Theteamwillhaveasmall,lightpenetratorthatwillbedroppedfromamediumtohighaltitude
astogetenoughmomentumtopenetratedeepenoughintothesurface.Withtheweightfromthe
penetratorgonethemainpayloadwillstarttoascendfasterasitcollectsdata.
7.0 FinalDesign
Theteamsschematic ofthepayloadisshown
to the right.The teamwillhavetheCPUontopofthe
balloonslitspectrometeroptics, ontheleftsideofthe
payload.TheIMUand penetratorarebothon theright
side. The uninflated balloon will be on the IMU.
Thermocouples will be on the outside of the
penetrator.Thepressuretransduceris ontherightside
next tothe IMU.Theantennawillbeonthetopofthe
batter with the transceiverinthemiddle.Onthetopof
thepayloadtheteamwillhavetheheliumtankandthe
balloonwitha parachute attached fordeployingoffof
theUAHpayload.Onthe rightsideofthepayloadthe
penetrator andholderlatch are attached.Thiswherethepenetratorwilldropfrom.Ontheleftsideofthe
payload there is the balloon slit spectrometerstoredbelowthe atmosphericstructure instrument.Thisis
the data collecting side of thepenetrator.Abovebothinstruments is thepressuretransducer,andbelow
them the transceiver. The batteries andcomputerunitarestoredtowardsthecenterofthepayload.The
hullstructureismadefromreinforcedcarbonfibretostaylightanddurable.
On the sides of the penetrator there are twelve 20centimeter thermocouples around the
circumferenceofthepenetrator.Onthetop is the transceiver. Below that is thecomputer andIMUwith
thebatteriesbelowthat.
Figure1.EEDAsMission
Table9.FinalDesignMassTable(BalloonPayloadYellow,PenetratorRight)
Balloon

Penetrator

Function

Mass(kg)

Function

Mass(kg)

Deploy

1.2kg

Deploy

0.5kg

CollectData

3.5kg

CollectData

0.3kg

ProvidePower

5kg

ProvidePower

1kg

SendData

0.3kg

SendData

0.3kg

House/ContainPayload

2kg

House/ContainPayload

1.9kg

Total

12kg

Total

3kg

TOTALMASS:12kg+3kg=15kg

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