Pleiades Orpheus

Pleiades Orpheus

Successfully Launched!

Successfully Launched!

Mission

Objective:
Determine changes in light pollution using satellite imagery.

Goal:
Utilize low-cost technology to collect valuable data for research purposes

Hardware

Satellite Structure:
Designed using the PROVES kit from the Bronco Space team at Cal Poly Pomona

Custom PCB boards for:

Satellite positioning using magnetorquers.

Powering systems with solar panels.

Capturing Earth imagery via a 5 MP embedded camera.

Transmitting data using the RFM98PW radio module.

Ground Station:
Designed a Yagi Antenna system to communicate with the satellite.

Optimizations:
Systems powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Full compliance with Exolaunch guidelines.

Software

Flight software adapted from the PROVES kit software written in CircuitPython.

Handles hardware internals, onboard power, detumbling, and diagnostics.

Image Capture:

Burst of 10 photos, selects the largest file size (assumed to contain detailed Earth imagery).

Transmits images using a fault-tolerant protocol for multi-pass transmission (~5 minutes per pass)

Challenges

Camera Failures:
Corrupted images caused by wiring issues on the camera board
Resolution: Fixed wiring issues, restoring functionality

Limited RAM:
Resolved by converting critical libraries to by tecode and freezing them into a custom build of CircuitPython

Specifications

Name: Pleiades Orpheus
Size: 1U (10 cm by 10 cm by 10 cm)
Payload: 5 MP Camera, Magnetorquers
Transmission Frequency: 437.4 MHz
Orbit Type: Sun-Synchronous Low-Earth Orbit
Perigee: 507 km
Apogee: 513 km

See More!

TinyGS

NanoSats