Rebranding!
Project Daedalus will be called PROJECT SVAROG from now on, the reason behind the rebranding is due to some to a name-clash with an existing concept mission from the 70s (Project Daedalus). “Svarog” comes from the name of the Slavic god of fire, blacksmithing and most importantly the Sun. Because our spacecraft will depend and interact so much with the Sun (and the name is not taken), Svarog will be the new name of the project!
Project Overview
Project Svarog aims to be the first civilian probe to exit the Solar System using a Solar Sail. Before that, the team wants to launch a LEO demonstration mission in 2 – 3 years. The project has been going on for nearly 2 years, the first year being mostly conceptual and research-oriented, this last year part of team has started to design for the LEO mission.
The teams designing the LEO demonstration mission are STRUM (Structural and Mechanical team) led by Beatriz Soriano Tortosa and BOLT (Electrical, Electronic and Communications team) lead by Ivan Revenga Riesco.
The teams more focused on the deep space mission are ORB (Orbital team) led by Debdut Sengupta, VCE (Vacuum Chamber Experiment team) led by Junglin Sung and SIMS (Simulations team) which is split into Environmental simulations team and theStructural simulations team, led by Piotr Fil.
STRUM
The STRUM team, which focuses on both structural and mechanical aspects, is engaged in exploring various options for sail deployment through research, design, and testing. Additionally, we have teamed up with the Origami Society to examine a range of sail folding patterns. In the near future, we will also be dedicating our efforts towards developing concept designs for both the hub and CubeSat.
Sail deployment mechanism design variant 1 
Sail deployment mechanism design variant 2
BOLT
During this term, the Electronics Team has successfully created the inaugural prototype of the On-Board Computer Development Board for the LEO Demonstration Mission. This board serves as an important validation of the team’s ability to design and manufacture functional Printed Circuit Boards and provides a suitable platform to simultaneously develop and test firmware as the real On-Board Computer Board evolves through future iterations.
The 2-layer board boasts a temperature sensor and a magnetometer that communicate with the processor through I2C. The Radio Module and Processor communicate via SPI, and UART is the designated protocol for programming the flash memory. The board is can be powered through Lithium-Ion batteries or through a 5V USB connection.
For the upcoming term, the objective is to have the boards manufactured and assembled. Some components have already been purchased for this purpose. The boards will be subjected to thorough testing to ensure they perform as intended. If the results are positive, part of the team will focus on developing firmware, while the other part works on the first iteration of the actual On-Board Computer.
ORB
The Orbital Team has been dedicated to enhancing the Six Degree of Freedom Model for the Solar Sail by incorporating more precise relativistic corrections and atmospheric drag considerations, specifically for our Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission. At present, the team is working on refining the atmospheric density model, enhancing the accuracy of the Sun model, incorporating spherical harmonics, and performing optimization and sensitivity analyses on the trajectory through the use of Scientific Machine Learning (SciML).
VCE
The Vacuum Chamber Experiment Team has successfully completed the production of the major components for the Test Rig this term. The Test Rig comprises of a motor, infrared light, a parabolic mirror for reflecting the infrared light, a camera, and an IR sensor. The parabolic mirror was made by shaping the reflective surface to conform to a wooden mold with the desired curvature. The camera casing was constructed from aluminum blocks using a CNC Router. The remaining components have been bought and are ready to be integrated into the Test Rig. The experiment has been scheduled for January/February.
SIMS
The Environmental Simulations Team has made significant advancements in simulating Solar Wind. The Space Weather Modelling Framework was identified as the most appropriate tool for our needs, as it has the ability to model the transient behavior of both the corona and heliosphere using different Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) techniques derived from the Boltzmann equation, by disregarding small time and spatial scales. The corona model utilizes a multifluid approach, which considers electrons as an isotropic charged fluid and other ions as a fluid with a pressure tensor expressed in terms of parallel and perpendicular components to the magnetic field. The code can be obtained through Github. Currently, it requires some significant modifications to be compatible with the Imperial Research Computing Service (RCS), and the team is focused on ensuring that it is in the proper format for installation and use at RCS. For more information on the implementation and underlying physics, please refer to the papers provided below.
The Structural Simulations Team’s primary area of research is the development of a dynamic multi-particle simulation of a membrane. To achieve this, the team plans to utilize the Julia programming language and its extensive distributed computing capabilities. A preliminary investigation has been undertaken and a model of a double pendulum with extensible strings was implemented and validated. A subsequent model of a membrane with negligible bending stiffness was also derived. Currently, the team is focused on developing a meshing tool around NETGEN, which uses the Delaunay triangulation algorithm as the basis of the discretization process. In the near future, the team will conduct a more detailed investigation of the bending model to validate the results obtained by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and determine the range of applicability of the spring approximation, along with error quantification.
For any queries about Project Svarog contact Gil Ribeiro or Piotr Fil at: gil.barbosa-ribeiro20@imperial.ac.uk and piotr.fil20@imperial.ac.uk!
0 Comments