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WP5 – AVIONICS
Avionics for the suborbital flight
(WP5 – Avionics)
Rémi GOURDON - Florian ROUSSEAU
INP ENSEEIHT – Toulouse
Suborbital plane’s avionics are a complex and
critical set of systems, though their study is very
rewarding. They are situated halfway between
the conventional planes we all know about and a
space vehicle like the space shuttle. So far, no
avionics package has been specifically designed
at a large scale for this kind of use.
The defining feature of an hybrid rocket-plane
suborbital vehicle (that we decided to study
specifically) is the fact that it has to face both the
aeronautics regulations and the space
constraints, in particular those related to the
inhospitality of its environment towards
electronics.
Constraints related to it are mainly of three kinds:
- pressure constraints (pressure level drops with
altitude).
- temperature constraints (important variations of
temperature throughout the flight).
- radiative constraints (sun is the number one
enemy of space electronics).
Those constraints require suborbital plane’s
electronics to be even more robust. We studied
different methods to protect efficiently (reliability-
cost-weight
compromise)
the
electronic
components, the wiring as well as the rest of the
suborbital vehicle devices.
Electronics components are coated in an epoxy
resin to protect them from heat
The high level of electronics integration aboard
the suborbital plane (numerous systems coexist
in a relatively small space and work in parallel)
make it necessary for the different devices to be
compatible amongst themselves. We talk about
electromagnetic compatibility.
The second aspect of our study consisted in
choosing the instruments already existing in the
aeronautics field or actually being developed that
would be necessary inside the hybrid suborbital
plane.
As an example, we compared different landing
navigation aids (ILS, SBAS) in order to find wich
one fitted best for suborbital flight.
Another particularity of an hybrid rocket-plane
vehicle is the necessity to get through air traffic,
get out, and cross several airways. It has to
communicate at any time with Air Traffic Control
(ATC) and to be visible on their radars. This is
only possible using specific avionics systems
such as a transponder or, in a near future, ADS-
B.
Heavy air traffic the suborbital plane has to get
into
Suborbital flight and space tourism activities are
just beginning to take shape but large projects
are already in progress, some of them even
reached test stages. Despite constraints implied
by suborbital flight on the technical as well as the
human aspects, it remains fascinating to study in
details and we advise students from engineering,
business schools or from the university to take
part in the Student Aerospace Challenge, to live
an enriching experience at the crossroads of the
aeronautics and space worlds
.