Here are minutes of our meeting on Thursday -- please just reply with (or let me know) any corrections -- thanks!:
Phoning in: Arnold Gaertner (NRC), Yorke Brown (Dartmouth), Cordell Grant and Houman Hakima (UTIAS-SFL), Karun Thanjavur (UVic), and our 3 JHU students working with Nathan Scott
Amongst the busy resumption of teaching and classes, things are going well in Hanover. Gondola drop tests (from Wilder building, and then from tethered balloon) will be done by Yorke and Cynthia as soon as possible, in order to test the new parafoil and the new (more modular) cutdown mechanism that they made. And then a flight can then be done as soon as is practical (weather, etc) after that. Yorke also has some needed software updates to make prior to that flight (and also he'll shortly work on the back-up telemetry card with a second DNT transceiver, but we'll work with the current system in the meantime).
Karun is making progress on Zemax-based computational modelling -- he has contacted LabSphere and AlliedScientificPro for any info they have on numerical optical models for the integrating spheres (or for any of their integrating sphere products), and has begun to create simple standard Zemax models of lenses, laser light etc. Paul and Karun have just finished making a very large (about 3 m^3) dark-box in the downstairs lab at UVic, and the computer automation for the spherical-coordinate goniophotometry stand that they have developed is working. In addition to his Zemax work, Karun will also be using the UVic machine shop to make some enhancements/modifications of the portable payload attitude calibration test stand.
Houman and Cordell are progressing well with the 3-D modelling of the nanosat payload, and of the multicolour laser module, and will be contacting us with questions when they arise. They'll also have some new drawings for us to look at soon.
The 433 MHz radios we have for testing (http://embeddedwirelesssolutions.com/ews_rfm23bp_433mhz_development_kit) work well and produce a nice UHF transmission signal at the correct frequency -- and undergraduate Diane Lehmann and I will be testing RX and range as well this week. I've continued my weekly contacts of Dale George and Barry Prentice of Buoyant Aircraft Systems for the superpressure balloon quotation -- this will be the very first stratospheric superpressure balloon made in Canada, so they've had to shake down some issues (mainly to do with making good seals between the gores of the thin polyethylene balloon envelope) before sending us the quote -- but they will be getting it to us this week or next.
Our three JHU senior undergraduate engineering design students working with Nathan Scott and with Susana joined and asked some excellent questions regarding suggestions for the monitoring photodiode and light source for their model-aircraft-based balloon payload, and other excellent questions too. Susana and Nathan submitted a request for STScI funding for their future flight tests, comprised of a 1 m long model aircraft lifted by balloon to operating altitudes, containing a photodiode-monitored, diffusion-based light source, which will be a superb test of propulsion and control at altitude, and also for allowing payload return to base, capabilities which we would all very much like to have.
Since the Readytalk teleconferencing system that we've always used will have disappeared as of our next telecon (on Oct. 9), we'll try Skype for that first post-Readytalk meeting. It looks like the best way to do that will be for each of you to just connect to me -- I am jalbertuvic on Skype -- and by your doing that, we'll create a telecon. We should thus all be able to do a free voice (non-video) Skype telecon with up to 25 participants (i.e. more than have ever, or should ever, join) -- at least in principle. I'll send the usual reminder message with this connection info (i.e., call jalbertuvic on Skype) the day before the next meeting. We'll see how that Skype meeting goes, and if there are issues, we'll try WebEx for the meeting after that.
That's all I remember, please send things that I forgot. Next telecon in two weeks, on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 pm Eastern time (and we'll be using Skype for the first time, as mentioned above -- the usual reminder, with the above connection info, will be sent the day before the meeting).
cheers, thanks all! justin
On Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:52:30 GMT, Justin Albert wrote:
> Hi, > > Telecon tomorrow (Sept. 25) at the new usual time: 1:30 pm Eastern > (10:30 am Pacific, 19.30 European). Discussion items include: operations > status and progress toward flights, light source modelling, goniometric > and pre- and post-flight calibration, nanosat and new laser module > design, computing/website, grant applications, and recap of schedules. A > reminder of the CSA project timeline is attached. > > Here's the dial-in info: If you are calling in from Canada or U.S.: > 1. Dial Toll-Free Number: 866-740-1260 (U.S. & Canada) > 2. Enter 7-digit access code: 5082741 followed by the # > > If you are calling in from elsewhere: > 1. To locate International Toll-Free Numbers go to > http://www.readytalk.com/intl (enter 7-digit access code 5082741) > 2. Dial toll free number from web link > 3. Enter Passcode: Enter 7-digit ACCESS CODE: 5082741 followed by the # > > Here's the tentative agenda: > I) Progress toward flights, drop tests, robustness improvements, other operational work > II) Light source studies and modelling, pre- and post-flight calibration, and goniometric calibrations > III) Nanosat, new integrating spheres, and multicolour laser module designs > IV) Computing/website > V) Grant applications > VI) AOB > > Talk to you all tomorrow, thanks, > justin > > Attachments: > http://projectaltair.org/HyperNews/get/AUX/2012/11/12/18.02-43361-Schedule-20120702_hqp.pdf >