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Testing Launch Vehicle Telemetry Avionics with LabVIEW

Conference Paper · August 2002

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Indian Space Research Organization
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Customer Solutions
Products Used: LabVIEW™ 6i • NI GPIB board • DAQCard™ with DROPS interface

Testing Launch Vehicle Telemetry Avionics with LabVIEW

by R. Sethunadh, S. Athuladevi, and
S. Sankara Iyer, Scientists/Engineers
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,
Indian Space Research Organisation

The Challenge: Developing a compact,

cost-effective, and easy-to-use test system
for testing and evaluating pyro current
monitoring units in a geo-synchronous
satellite launch vehicle.

The Solution: Developing an easy-to-use

virtual instrumentation system integrating the
functionality of various independent subsystems.

Speed, Cost, Compactness,

and Portability
Before using NI products, we tested and
evaluated pyro current monitoring (PCM)
units using a semi-automated checkout
with two separate PCs. One controlled the
programmable current signal generator
(PCSG) to give input current pulses to the
package, and the other received the package
output using a PCM controller unit and a
PCM data acquisition module with some
associated interface circuitry.
The qualification and acceptance-level
testing of launch vehicle avionics involves
electrical, thermal, vibration, and EMI tests.
This requires the shifting and setting up
of test systems at various test facilities in
different locations. We wanted to make
the test system more compact and easier
to set up and use. Using LabVIEW, we
configured a data acquisition card to
The highly modular LabVIEW graphical development a National Instruments
environment gives us room for easy expansion.
simulate the actions of the PCM controller
unit and data acquisition module. We
can control the PCSG from the LabVIEW
graphical development environment. We
configured the checkout software using the
PCSG controller, data acquisition, and data
analysis and presentation. We integrated
these VIs together and loaded them into a
single PC with associated hardware, including the package with a harness. The package
PCSG, GPIB, and DAQ. The data-presentation
VI provides an option for automatic test
Block Schematic of PYCM Test System
report generation in HTML format using
ActiveX controls. We developed a VI
for the automated checkout that met all our
requirements and provided superior speed,
cost, compactness, and portability, as well as
the accuracy requirements of different
functionality tests.
Easy Expansion with a
Highly Modular Environment
We configured the checkout using a Pentium
PC with Windows 98 OS, a programmable
current signal generator
with switching module,
GPIB board, and a data
acquisition board with
Decentralized and
pRogrammable Onboard PCM System bus
(DROPS) interface.
The eight current sources in the PCSG are
time division multiplexed using a switching
system generating 40 channels of current
pulses of programmable amplitude and pulse
width. These channels connect to the 40
different hall-effect sensors placed within
output connects to the data acquisition card in
the PC using a DROPS interface cable. The
output data reads from the package
at a constant rate of two Kbytes/s using
DROPS protocol.
We developed the software using
LabVIEW. It is highly modular and gives
us room for easy expansion. We configured
the total checkout software iusing PCSG
controller, data acquisition, and data analysis
and presentation. We integrated three VIs and
created the final, main VI with the main VIs
graphical user interface. The user selects
different tests such as channel accuracy, cross
talk, pulse width, and command inhibition
with different test conditions and parameters.
It also displays the output waveform graph,
test data, and percentage deviations along
with OK/Not OK judgments for each of the
40 sensors.
Reduced Development Time
The main time savings came from
sequentially carrying out the input current
signal configuration, data acquisition,
presentation, and test report generation.
Previously, these were performed
independently in different software
environments in a semi-automated mode.
In this project, we developed a low-cost
virtual instrumentation system, keeping
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Customer Solutions

The flexible and user-friendly graphical

programming environment of LabVIEW has
considerably reduced our system development time.

Comparison Parameter Old Test System Virtual Instrumentation-Based

New System
Test Time (Initial SRC tests Four Hours One Hour
& test setup) per DUT
System Cost Rs. 21,50,000.00 Rs. 16,00,000.00
Compactness & Portability Low High
Automatic Test Report
Generation & Publishing No Yes

Old and New Test System Comparison

the functionality high and price low.

The advantages of using custom-developed
VIs rather than traditional instruments
are apparent. The flexible and user-friendly
graphical programming environment of
LabVIEW considerably reduced our system
development time. This study also paved
the way for the establishment of an easily
modifiable software/hardware platform
accommodating any additional test
requirements for this or similar systems. ■

For more information contact

R. Sethunadh
Indian Space Research Organisation
Tel: 95-471-565712
Email: sethunadh@rediffmail.com

Graphical User Interface and Results Window

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