SQUID - The Rocket Probe

SQUID documentation available for download

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:22:37 +0100

If you're interested in all the details of the preliminary design of our experiment, the full Student Experiment Documentation for the preliminary design can be downloaded by following this link.

The presentation we held in Noordwijk is available (in PDF format) from this link. Sadly the movies don't play in this format, e-mail us if you are interested in the full Powerpoint file.

We are working....

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:18:36 +0100

Since yesterday we have been working in Mentor Graphics to do the schematics for the SQUID electronic design, it starts to be quite complex because we must control every sensor and every other unit. All the values of the components must be chosen very carefully. It is without a question a very critical phase in the project... lets keep working because next week we will show all our advances in Kiruna!!

PDR Document delivered

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:15:08 +0100

After lots of work and little sleep the SQUID team delivered the PDR (Preliminary Design Review) document. It consists on a document giving a detailed status of the project (close to 100 pages). The next step is to prepare two presentations for the PDR Review in Kiruna, Sweden (North pole) where experts on different areas will give feedback about our preliminary design and we will also have different workshops on a wide variety of topics in order to get more knowledge before we start with the detailed design of the experiment.

Busy sunday!

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:41:28 +0100

Though it's actually Sunday the whole team gathered in the Alfvén lab this morning. It was actually the first time this year that all team members where present at the same time. The day was dedicated to come as far as possible with the "Student Experiment Documentation"

There are lot of things that need to be completed and I, Gustav, have been busy both with describing the analog electronics of the project as well as the power supply. Since I have a second roll as project manager the last week has really been filled with the project plan. Hopefully I now have enough info to write the relevant parts of the SED.

As well as the rest of the team I am really looking forward to the PDR but for now the SED is really the only thing in our heads.

Onwards to the PDR!

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:51:38 +0100

Almost all team members are now back in Sweden after a well-earned Christmas break, and we are hard at work in preparation for the Preliminary Design Review at Esrange Space Center, outside of Kiruna in the week from the 1st of February.

In preparation for this we are writing the first version of a document called the Student Experiment Documentation, which basically integrates all the different documentation you'd typically have in a project like this. Technical description, statement of objectives and requirements, testing procedures, risk assessment, details on the planning of the project, etc... A LOT of work remains and some team members have exams this week, but we've gotten a good head start during the holidays and our web-based project management tool Basecamp is a real help for us project managers in keeping an overview of the TO-DOs assigned to each member of the team.

At the Preliminary Design Review we are also going to hold another, updated, presentation. Most importantly, this is our opportunity to receive feedback on our preliminary design from a panel of experts. A visit to the LKAB mines in Kiruna is also planned, and we get to meet the other teams that have been selected and are hopefully flying with us. I hope everyone brings warm clothes. :)

We got selected! YES!

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:41:57 +0100

We are thrilled to say that SQUID was among the experiments chosen by the selection board to fly as part of the REXUS campaign in February/March 2011! The team worked really hard in preparation for the selection workshop, and we are all really glad it paid off.

This means that we can finally start the development of our experiment. With a preliminary design review (PDR) workshop up in Kiruna in the beginning of February and a PDR documentation deadline set to the 21st of January, we've got a hectic couple of weeks ahead of us... not to mention the whole year up to delivery next winter! But hey, who needs time off when you've got a ticket to space? ;)

Workshop at ESA_ESTEC

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:08:01 +0100

Our endeavor in ESA-ESPAC in Noordwijk, Holland has ended. Today was the presentation of SQUID in front of the panel of experts, the presentation lasted around 20 minutes, but actually it took us a considerable amount of time and effort to get it ready, we spend a lot of time taking care of every single detail not only in the information but also in the design. Gustav and Nickolay were also helping us by distance. This effort we had put in this presentation was reflected in the session of questions the jury was very interested in our proposal, and they ask us very specific technical details, that we answered fairly good. Also we received some suggestions and comments that will help us in the future. At the end of the session some teams told us they liked our presentation.

It has been a unique experience; we interacted with groups from diverse nationalities all the teams gathered for this Selection Workshop has shown why they were selected and we can say all we are very motivated and the standard is very high.

Talking a bit about backstage, the design of our logo and our t-shirts distinguishes us among the others we received a lot of nice comments from the other teams, they were curious about our SQUID :) . We can claim without doubt that our outreach strategy is a success. As an extra activity they gave us guided tour through some sections of the agency, the most impressive was the test center.

The facilities that ESA provides are very comfortable and the food is just amazing, today they offered free dessert and wine, we were lucky for the dessert but no for the wine because our presentation was right after the lunch :) .

We really enjoy this Workshop, we know it is unforgettable experience, and we are delighted to know the resolution then start working hard again! :D
Personally I would like to thank to my team mates, I really spend a good time working with them and all the support and effort that all of them has devoted to SQUID. Of course we missed Gustav and Jiangwei.

Some pictures taken by Jacob are in our facebook...

Presentation rehearsal and getting ready for Noordwijk

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:53:53 +0100

Today we had a presentation dry-run in front of supervisors, colleagues, and LAPLander team members at the department of Space and Plasma Physics at KTH. Overall it went well, and most importantly we got a lot of valuable feedback.

Our presentation is going to be held the last day at the workshop, Thursday, so we have plenty of time to be inspired by the other presentations there. In total, there will be 14 teams attending, with 3-4 places for experiments on the European rocket. There is also a separate rocket which is mainly just for German teams. Also, some of the teams are applying for the balloon launches, BEXUS, instead of the rocket launches. Still, we'll have to work hard if we hope to get a ticket for the rocket.

Early tomorrow morning four members of the team, Mario, Mónica, David and me, Jacob, will be leaving for ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This is the heart of the European Space Agency's operations and I'll be bringing my camera equipment to document the visit to this cool place as well as possible, and upload the photos to this blog and Twitter (@SQUID_KTH). We'll all try to blog as much as possible from there, so stay tuned!

Oh, we also have a presence on Facebook now. Show your support for our experiment by joining our Facebook Group!

Preparing for the workshop presentation

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:09:16 +0100

We have been quite busy the last couple of weeks. The ESA workshop at Noordwijk is closing in and the team is hard at work preparing for the project presentation. The first gantt schedule of the project has been created and we've already identified about 200 tasks that need to be addressed before the critical design review in June.

The project plan that makes up the gantt chart was a major undertaking to draw up, and with winter exams looming large the planning was spread up over several lunch and dinner meetings over the course of a week. Everyone agreed that these kinds of meetings were both pleasant and productive, and we'll probably have many more in the future

The team has also produced the first simulations of the wire-boom deployment sequence as well as CAD models for parts of the experiment.

Take a look at our CAD-model

Homepage online

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:35:37 +0100

As you may have noticed, our homepage is online! We will keep it updated with the latest info about the progress of the project. The news section, which you are reading right now, will serve as a blog for all the team members. The webpage is built on the Snowfire platform from Mimmin AB. We would all like to express our gratitude to the Mimmin team for letting us use the platform as well as for all the help in getting the page online!

SQUID invited to ESA's final selection workshop

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:07:43 +0100

We are happy to announce that the SQUID project has been selected to participate in the final selection workshop in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on 15-17th Dec. Four members of the project will attend and hold a project presentation in front of a selection panel.

If selected, our experiment will fly as part of the REXUS program in the beginning of 2011.