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          T H E  S P A R T N I K  COUNTDOWN...
      Your Official newsletter from the San Jose
   State University Microsatellite Design Laboratory

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                 September, 1998
               Volume #3, Issue #1

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      -------------------------------------------
                Announcements In Brief
      -------------------------------------------

 * Team Spartnik briefs project status at Space Systems/Loral, May 1998.
 * Shell delivered to Lockheed Martin for array placement.
 * Spartnik website updated!
 * Team Spartnik briefs project status at Student Conference Day, May 1998.
 * Spartnik paper places second in the Small Satellite Conference in Utah!
 * Santa Clara University takes a Spartnik tour.
 * '98-'99 Spartnik Team announced!

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PROJECT MISSION STATEMENT:

 * To educate undergraduate students in the process of managing and
    developing a Microsatellite
 * To prepare the students for successful careers in the Aerospace
    Community by creating an industry-like project environment
 * To bring the direct involvement of the industry into the education
    process through mentorship and project alliances

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
___________________________________________________________________________

How to contact us -

Project Director:
Prof. Hank Pernicka - (408) 924-4054
hank@voyager.engr.sjsu.edu

Systems Engineer:
Ruben Garza (408) 924-8772
cassini@galileo.engr.sjsu.edu

____________________________________________________________________________

        *************************************************
                    An Array of Progress
        *************************************************

Spartnik's outer shell has been delivered to Lockheed Martin Missiles
and Space where the solar arrays are being attached.  Watch the website
for pictures when it returns to San Jose State!

           ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
                       Web Site Updates!
           ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Our website contains newsletter archives, the Spartnik Executive
Summary, and several reports.  The ADAC Subsystem page even contains an
animation of Spartnik's tumble while in orbit! Check it out and see our
new updates including biographies of Spartnik team members and new
pictures soon to come.

If any industry mentors who do not have their biographies posted on our
page wish to do so, please e-mail the information you wish to be posted
to Robbie at singh1@home.com.


   ***************************************************************
               Thanks From Last Year's Systems Engineer!
   ***************************************************************

I would like to take the opportunity to thank this past year's team in
all their hard work and the efforts throughout the academic year.  They
have all shown dedication and pride in all their accomplishments and
have helped to bring Project Spartnik one year closer to completion.
With final flight integration to begin shortly, I wish the new team luck
in their transition and the next academic year.  Once again, thank you
to last year's team!

Jeff Lin
Systems Engineer '97-'98

          ************************************************
                  Briefings and More Briefings!
          ************************************************

The Aerospace Engineering faculty have always stressed the importance of
oral and written communications skills.  Spartnik members participate in
many presentations during the year.

MAY
Past ADAC members Brian Menges and Carlos Guadiamos presented a detailed
overview of their subsystem to the annual Spartnik briefing at Space
Systems/Loral.  The rest of Team Spartnik presented a brief overview
of our other subsystems.

Team Spartnik also briefed a College of Engineering audience on Student
Conference Day in May.  Many good questions and discussion occurred
among faculty, students, and visitors.

SEPTEMBER
Jeff Lin, Francisco Soriano, and Michelle Schoenman submitted a
paper summarizing the Spartnik Project to the Small Satellite
Conference in Utah, which was held on the second week of
September. Their oral presentation and paper earned them second
place and a $5000 cash prize!

    ******************************************************
               Welcome!! Welcome!! Welcome!!
    ******************************************************

Team Spartnik would also like to thank Michelle Schoenman for her
research over the summer.  Her work for Team Spartnik enhanced
many various key aspects of the project.

Welcome also to two new members of Team Spartnik right here at San Jose
State who joined the team this summer:

Irma Franco, Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student - ADAC
Tuan Do, Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student - TT&C

*** AND...  announcing the '98-'99 Team:

Ruben Garza, Systems Engineer
John Van Arsdall
Neal Cheeseman
Daniel Barrere
Pat Llanes
Mike Kenniston
Steve Calkins
Jennifer Krause
Henry Martinez
Patrick Arriola
Thuan Nguyen


    ******************************************************
               Santa Clara University Visits!
    ******************************************************
Students from Santa Clara University visited campus over
the summer.  Notes were compared on each university's
microsat projects.  Good luck to SCU on their efforts this year!



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PROJECT STATUS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

@ ATTITUDE DETERMINATION AND CONTROL (ADAC)
LEAD - Daniel Barrere
TEAM - John Van Arsdall, Neal Cheeseman

Irma Franco and Daniel Barrere are researching the nature of
hysteresis rods and their effect on the spin rate of Spartnik.

John is revising the Attitude Determination software that takes
current readings from the solar arrays and computes the
attitude of Spartnik.

ADAC will also conduct a leak test on Spartnik's nutation damper
soon.


@ STRUCTURES
LEAD - Henry Martinez
TEAM - Jennifer Krause, Pat Llanes, Thuan Nguyen

Ray Brindos should complete fabrication of Spartnik's top and bottom
plate soon.

The drawings for the periscope are being finalized and pending final
approval will go to the machine shop for fabrication.

The newly designed camera box has been fabricated and in conjunction
with the periscope design new focal lengths are being calculated so that
new lenses may be purchased.  The holes in the shell for the placement of
the solar arrays had to be repositioned.  The shell is currently at
Lockheed Martin having the solar arrays attached.

A Finite Element Analysis is being performed to model the thermal and
structural loads on Spartnik.

Michelle has devised a method to stow Spartnik's antennas for launch and
deployment when in orbit.  She has found that by tying the rolled
antennas with nylon fishing line, then burning through the line by
passing current through nichrome wire, deployment can be accomplished.
Shake testing must be done to determine the reliability of the design.

Research has begun on the clean room that will be constructed at San
Jose State University!  The team hopes to have an effective design and
begin gathering materials within the next couple of months.

@ PAYLOAD
LEAD - Patrick Arriola
TEAM -Jennifer Krause, Daniel Barrere

The donation of Rohacell Foam from Mr. Steve DuBois and Richmond
Aircraft Products has greatly aided the team's efforts to acquire all
the necessary components for installation.  The housing in which the
foam will be used to support the camera has been fabricated.  Patrick
Arriola is now preparing the foam for installation.

Efforts are underway to study the effects of the heat generation by the
camera and the manner in which it is dissipated.  So far, the method of
choice is a conduction heat path from the DC regulator to the aluminum
housing which is attached to the +z face of Spartnik.  The results of
the tests will dictate the amount of conduction heat paths that will be
required.


@ POWER (EPS)
LEAD - Michael Kenniston
TEAM - Thuan Nguyen, Steve Calkins

Mike McCormick at Lockheed Martin is applying solar arrays and efforts
are underway to acquire flight batteries.


@ THERMAL
LEAD - Steve Calkins
TEAM -- Michael Kenniston

The Thermal subsystem has recently completed a SINDA thermal modeling
program.  Computer analysis using the finished code is in the
preliminary stage.  The Thermal subsystem is also calibrating the
thermocouples that are to be placed in Spartnik.  A circuit to test the
thermocouples is being built for this purpose.  Future projects remaining
include the painting of Spartnik's top and bottom plates and the application
of the FOSR reflective material pending completion of the SINDA analysis.


@ LAUNCH VEHICLE AND ORBIT
LEAD - Pat Llanes
TEAM - Ruben Garza, Patrick Arriola, Daniel Barrere

Acquisition of a launch vehicle is still ongoing.  Hopes are high
that a partnership between Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space and
Lockheed Martin-Astronautics divisions will provide a sponsored
secondary payload launch opportunity aboard an Athena launch
vehicle in calendar year 1999 or 2000. Other launch opportunities
are currently sought.

@ COMPUTER SOFTWARE
LEAD - Jeff Nokes
TEAM - Keiko Endo, John Van Arsdall, John Robinson, Tuan Anh Do,
        Neal Cheeseman

All modules, except the advanced shell and the RAMDISK driver, are
assigned.

The team hopes that John Robinson will assist in expanding his basic
testing shell into the finalized interface.  Good progress has been made
with the integration of AX.25, PACSAT, and the OS/Shell.  Testing for
these modules should take place by mid/late fall.

The first drafts of the command book and the telemetry handbook have
been released, and currently revisions are being made to the upcoming
version.


@ COMPUTER HARDWARE
LEAD - Jeff Nokes
TEAM - Andre Scroggie
The on-board computer is in its final stages of being wire-wrapped.  As
soon as the UCSC students finish the wire-wrap, hardware and software
testing will begin.  At that time the pinout connection for the analog
sensors can be finalized and the on-board/ground station code can be
modified.

Andre Scroggie is looking into the custom EDAC circuit.  When it gets
finalized, the actual flight hardware layout will be tested.


@ GROUND STATION
LEAD - Jeff Nokes

The ground station application is still being coded.

The MS Access database forms/reports are being designed for the
telemetry scrubbing and storage.

The antenna was realigned to offset the "tweaking" that occurred from
recent storms.  The TNC and receiver/transmitter will be on-line again
within the next month with the newly acquired Kansas City Tracker.

Full functional software/hardware testing is scheduled to begin by the
end of Fall '98.


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About Our Newsletter...

The purpose of this newsletter is to inform industry and universities
about what is happening with San Jose State's Spartnik project.  This
bimonthly newsletter is distributed, via e-mail, to the people who have
contributed, sponsored, or expressed interest in this project.  Feel
free to forward this newsletter to any colleagues.  If you want to be
added to (or removed from) the distribution list or have questions or
comments about the project or newsletter, send the information to:
hank@voyager.engr.sjsu.edu

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SPECIAL THANKS TO...

Over the past few years, many companies and individuals have contributed
in some way to Project Spartnik thus making it a reality for many
students.  The team members and the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Department faculty would like to that the following:

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space
Lockheed Martin Technical Operations
Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver
IBM Research
Richmond Aircraft Products
Space Systems/Loral
Applied Solar Energy Corp.
United Technologies Corp. - Chemical Systems Division
Optical Coating Laboratory Inc.
Shur-Lok Corporation
Satellite Power Corp.
Teledyne Corp.
Kodak
Logitech
Eagle Picher
Phillips Semiconductor
Teklam
Kajon Inc.
Advanced Industrial Coatings
Stanford University - SSDL

				...for their contributions... Thank you.
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End Transmission - Volume #3, Issue #1, September 1998
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