Spacecraft Systems and Controls Lab

SSCL Today

Mission Control area for HABET Flights

In 2007 the SSOL was changed to the Space Systems and Controls Lab as new leadership took over, and to reflect some of the changes the lab had undergone. The SSCL continues with a focus in space systems and has expanded to several new areas. The SSCL still has a strong emphasis in student involvement both with projects and with leadership in the lab. Presently the lab has 4 core projects, two active research projects, several capstone projects and well over 50 students involved from Electrical, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering as well as students outside the College of Engineering. The lab is managed by Matthew Nelson, staff within the Aerospace Engineering department and is the Director of Engineering and Operations for the lab. Funding for the lab is from the Aerospace Engineering department, research grants and private donations.

SSCL Projects

The SSCL has several core projects that are ongoing from year to year. In addition to these projects, the SSCL has had numerous capstone and independent projects led by students in the lab.

HABET

The longest running project at the SSCL is the High Altitude Balloon Experiments in Technology (HABET) program. This program has enabled students to design, build and fly spacecraft to the edge of our atmosphere and back to earth. The HABET team has flown experiments that have included micro gravity, the sending of worms, collection of atmospheric data, high quality images and videos and countless other experiments. To date, the HABET team has flown over 130 flights, has obtained an altitude record of 121,793 feet (ASL), has flown payloads up to 50 lbs, and has pushed the envelope in developing new techniques and hardware for High Altitude Balloons.

HABET Flight Stack

IJEMS History

The ISAT project was never fully funded. In September 1994, an opportunity to fly an experiment aboard the space shuttle was presented. One of the original experiments for the ISAT project, was incorporated into a design to be flown aboard the space shuttle in a project called the Iowa Joint Experiment in Microgravity Solidification (IJEMS). The project involved many institutions, including Iowa State University (ISU), the University of Iowa, the Ames Laboratory, the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, Rockwell International, and Space Industries Incorporated. In September 1995, the project was successfully flown on board STS-69.

IJEMS had the following attributes:

• Microprocessor: 33 MHz 486SLC
• Storage Media: 3MB Flash memory formatted with FAT for executable and data storage
• Operating system: DOS
• Thermocouples quantity: 32
• Solid state relays quantity: 24
• Programming language: C++
• Hosted experiments quantity: 4
• Available power: 20A @ 28V
• Pre-flight acceleration testing: 9G
• Smart Can pressure regulation: 1/2 ATM

External links

• Space Systems and Controls Lab