Subteams
SPACE RACCOON is built by five subteams:
Structures
Chassis design, thermal and vibration analysis, and orbital mechanics.
- When
- Fridays, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
- Where
- Nolop
This semester
- CAD the payload and boards
- Iterate on the chassis
- Thermal & vibration analysis
- Build a physical model
What you'll learn
- Onshape
- ANSYS
- Machine shop tools
- FreeFlyer
Software
Image processing, flight software, and onboard debris detection.
- When
- Saturdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
This semester
- Image processing pipeline (Python → C)
- Flight software & FPGA
- Generalized ADCS contributions
- This website
Looking ahead
- Onboard ML pipeline
- Data transfer over RF
- Mission simulation
What you'll learn
- Git & GitHub
- Python, C/C++
- Linear algebra
Power
Collecting sunlight and keeping every subsystem alive through eclipse.
- When
- Sundays, 3:00pm – 4:00pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
This semester
- Design the electrical power system
- Solar collection & regulation PCBs
Looking ahead
- System-level efficiency analysis
- Better power collection
What you'll learn
- Altium / KiCad
- PCB design
- LTspice
Comms
The radio link between SPACE RACCOON and the ground.
- When
- Sundays, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
This semester
- Choose a frequency band
- Select a transceiver & antenna
- Prototype ground station
Looking ahead
- Image downlink
- RF environmental testing
- Automated ground operations
What you'll learn
- RF & link budgets
- Spectrum regulations
- Packet handling
Weather BalloonNew this year
Sending electronics to near space, about 100,000 ft up.
Meeting time coming soon
A helium balloon carries a payload box to near space, films the curvature of the Earth, and falls back a few hours later. It's a fast, beginner-friendly way to test electronics and comms before the CubeSat flies.
This semester
- Research high-altitude balloons
- Design the payload box
- Plan launch day
What you'll learn
- Flight simulation
- Launch operations
- Flight tracking
- HAM radio
All-team meeting
Tuesdays, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Halligan 145
Stay in touch
- Discord · CubeSat server
- Slack · Tufts SEDS workspace