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PSAS Road Map: Proposed PSAS 5 Year Plan

Here's a proposed 5-year plan for PSAS. It's just a guideline to help us figure out where we should be going, rather than a hard timeline. As you'd expect, it goes from "what we have to do tomorrow"-level detail to starry-eyed optimism farther down the road. In otherwords, keep in mind that realism and time-from-today are inversely proportional.

Current Location 2006/3/22

• Prototyping GOX-paraffin motor (? is this still relevant?)

Milestone 1:

• LV2 Data Analysis (?)

Milestone 2:

* Prototypes of observer algorithms

• Evolution of LV2 avionics: new IMU, new GPS, magnetometer, DGPS?, GPS attitude?, new processor(?)
• More passive launches for data gathering and telemetry, testing avionics systems (locally on "M"s? BRD 2005 on "O"/"P"?)

• Fundraising(!!!)

• Finish GOX motor (while designing the LOX)

Milestone 3:

• Working observer algorithm fusing GPS, IMU, magnetometer, pressure, etc

• More passive launches of LV2 (local on "M"s, BRD 2006 on ?); truth models (radar tracking?)

• Test LOX hybrid (vaguely flight ready)

Milestone 4:

• Finish "final" rev of LV2 avionics system with observer

• Start prototyping active guidance algorithms in simulations

• Rebuild LOX hybrid for flight

• LV3 airframe? or adapt LV2 airframe to new motor section

Milestone 5:

• Launch LV2b/LV3 with LOX/paraffin hybrid and working but passive navigation algorithms

This is probably one of the last of the realistic, foreseeable milestones

Milestone 6:

• Model of LV2b/LV3; Finish prototyping guidance algorithms

• Ground tests of TVC

Milestone 7:

• Testing and Tuning of guidance algorithms

• LV3/3b: Short flight tests of TVC (hovering)

Milestone 8:

• Testing and Tuning of guidance algorithms

• Launch with passive/active mixes

Milestone 9:

• Full actively-guided launch

This milestone would conclude the primary goal of PSAS, and we'd be able to move on to our "vision statement" which is "nanosatellites to orbit". Note the emphasis on vision, not reality!

Milestone 10:

• LV4: suborbital rocket with active guidance
  • Active guidance and airframe testbed
  • Edge of space? ~100km (62mi/330,000ft)

Milestone 11:

• L4B/LV5 suborbital multistaged rocket with active guidance
  • All of the complexity of an orbital vehicle but not the size
  • Orbital altitude but not velocity > 200km (>120mi)

Milestone 12 (endpoint):

• LV6: orbital multistaged rocket with active guidance: Nanosattelite launch to orbit
  • Minimal rocket for 1kg to orbit