2018-01-24 Meeting notes

Recap about Svalbard’s trip

• Lessons learnt: how to focus each of the lenses and how to calibrate
• Mariusz presented the mission to Fred so he suggested to make the front lens larger to capture more light
• Julian is currently mounting the first prototype
• New version has a larger slit (approx. 1 inch) to get more pixels, therefore more resolution. This will impact on :
• The processing part.
• Downlink (there is more data now).
• Slewing rate will be similar.
• Image resolution will improve.
• Pointing accuracy will be less strict.
• Swath width will also change. The larger the swath width the better because the SNR will be higher and thus, we can distinguish signatures better. But we have to test this.
• Discussion on 3U/6U. HSI payload barely fits in 1U, maybe we can shrink it by customizing it. We should establish criteria to decide, FoV resolution, for instance.

Discussion on which version should we work on.

• We should starting working with version 4 (processing tasks, optics, L level implications) and then, we will switch to version 5 (it is supposed to be plug-and-play, only the slit changes). Next iteration would be version 6 if it is ready and proven to be better at PDR. But we should stick to one version now and keep going.
• João has both version 4 (250 pixels optical resolution along track) and 5 (750 pixels). Version 5 is more sensitive in infrared, has a larger slit and captures more light.
• Version 6 has issues with: packaging, reflecting mirror (de-focus might happen), less cascading effects.
• We should test different exposure times in the same area and under the same conditions both for V4 and for V5 to draw some conclusions
• As soon as we get the prototype we can start getting the data from the camera.We should start working as independently as possible.

Discussion on which level of data are we going to provide:

• Do we need data before binning?
• Should we do the deconvolution?How raw can data be and still be able to downlink it?What has been done with Ajit’s data
• Sivert has looked at it and searched for different types of algorithms for detecting signatures.
• João wants to know what data they would like to have from us. He tested EMSC on El Hierro image (volcano eruptions and algal blooms).Milica wants to know if there is any signature in the data that we can detect to test the algorithms.Discussion on JPEG2000/EMSC
• We should test JPEG2000 on what João gets from the EMSC.Baseline data for processing:
• Maybe the HICO data
• Compare JPEG2000 and EMSCMission designs depends on the HIS performancePrototype discussion

Julian’s summary

• Put the PCB into production over Christmas, it has been ready for a couple of weeks but purchasing parts through NTNU is so slow that I haven’t gotten all the parts I need to solder them yet. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

• Have uploaded most of the documents related to the HSI to the wiki, finishing the documentation when I find time. BOM, schematics, Altium Designer files are already there.

• Aiming for final delivery of the assembled prototype and documentation next week.

• Link to electronics wiki: on NTNU Wiki

• Link to mechanical wiki: on - NTNU Wiki

• Learned how to assemble and calibrate the optics at Svalbard, should be able to take that in-house now. Making a guide for the wiki so that anyone can do it. Fred loved our version of the 3D printed optics.

• Need to borrow a clean room for optics assembly.

• Worked on the v6 optics design with Fred on Svalbard, 3D printed his initial design, have it on my desk and can show you next week.

• A company called Trenz Electronic released a Zynq 7045 board that has industrial components and is small enough to fit in a CubeSat (8.5x8.5cm). It’s affordable (~1400 euros) and should be good enough to fly. We can use it like we are using the PicoZed board right now, and just design a carrier plate for power electronics, SD-card and image sensor. With this, combined height for v6 can be as small as 6 cm - which is extremely good compared to v4 optics (12 cm height).

• Link to Trenz board: https://shop.trenz-electronic.de/en/TE0782-02-045-2I-High-Performance-Xilinx-Zynq-Z-7045-Module-ind.-temp.range-8-5-x-8-5-cm

• A student with a part-time job will be hired soon. He will work on the driver for the FPGA (same as one of Milica’s student but maybe with a parallel approach).

UAV flights status

• Experiments on a salt pond (2-4m deep) in Hopavågen will be performed in the beginning of March. A UAV and an ASV will be flown with two cameras (one of them the HSI prototype) and people will collect samples from the water the images taken can be contrasted.There may be a small delay between the area captured from the UAV and the one from the ASV. Need GPS for comparison of the 10x10m picture. Need more details on the CONOPS from Maritime Robotics and ourselves.
• Balloon flights. João is setting up things to have 3 independent prototypes running (one of the balloon flight, another one maybe for UAV and an extra one) all based on version 4 or 5 (UAV camera).When Tor Arne is back we will have to commit with the sample rates…SmallSat Lab status

SmallSat Lab

• There is an ongoing discussion on whether it should have a clean room or not.
• Space has been allocated.Flat sat, ground station and lab.Discussion on ground station:
• Full professional ground station at S-band.
• Simpler approach but requiring more effort on building it.
• The rector secured funding for the lab.

SDR status

• Gara has done same presentations about what different organisations have done around the world, possible SDR platforms to use and small satellites using SDR. There is also a spreadsheet containing all the information to do the trade-offs.

Action items:

• Milica asks Julian the right numbers to start with processing.
• Test different exposure times in the same area and under the same conditions both for V4 and for V5. UPDATE 2018-04-11: Done for V4, in preparation for Hopavågen.
• Mariusz will start working on a table with the characteristics and implications of the different cameras (everyone can contribute to fill it in).
• Sivert will send Kanna an email asking for the things he needs.
• João will send Milica the latest version of his EMSC tests.
• A folder on Gdrive should be created to save the data for the processing algorithms that are going to be tested, so that everyone can use the same.                   
• Do a table with the implications of choosing JPEG2000 or EMSC or both? UPDATE 2018-02-05: Ongoing                     
• Milica has to share Mariusz’s concept documents with her students
• Need to talk to Maritime Robotics about the integration of the HSI with the power systems and storage.           
• Kanna has to talk to Ajit to know as much as possible about the data provided, present signatures, for instance.
• Gara will send the SDR information gathered so far after discussing it with Torbjörn, Roger and Egil.   UPDATE 2018-02-05: Ongoing