These past two weeks have been very hectic in team ARC. We had our peer reviewed PDR presentation on Tuesday 10/7 and got some very valuable feedback from professors on our preliminary design. We also made a new block diagram to show our preliminary design in a more friendly way.

There are a few changes in this design compared to the previous block diagrams we have made. Firstly, the introduction of some new electronics. In the red is the Fiber Bragg grating system which is a complex temperature sensing system that can provide an accurate temperature field measurement. This temperature field will be used to determine when the flaps on the back would actuate and open up. Another new piece is the pink blocks. These blocks are a dampening system meant to protect the electronics during launch, orbit, and the beginning stages of re-entry to allow for all of the flaps to actuate before they demise. Additionally, its not a new electronics piece, but we re-designed the flaps to open past the end of the body to better influence the center of pressure whilst also being more friendly to design around.

We also narrowed down the electronic selection for the PDR and made a block diagram showing how distribution of power and control signals. This decisions are preliminary so we have some beginning power calculation, so parts may change in the future.

The next step for our team is our actual preliminary design report presentation at Honeywell Aerospace in Clearwater. This is in a few short days so the team is staying busy!