The Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) is the country’s largest annual youth science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) event, bringing together top young scientists and their projects, selected by our national network of over 100 regional STEM fairs in every province and territory. The weeklong event has 500 finalists in grades 7-12 competing for medals, cash prizes, scholarships and exclusive opportunities.
in 2021, Silas competed at the CWSF and he was awarded the Excellence in Astronomy Award (the prize is a telescope) and a Gold Medal! – Here at DSS we are so proud of him.
Silas’ project “Revolution Evolution” describes the design evolution of a CubeSat reaction wheel.
“For last year’s
science fair project, SMARTEN, I created a simulated microgravity and reduced
friction testbed for CubeSats. I got interested in reaction wheels
because I needed to build one to test SMARTEN. That project led to me being invited
to join DSSL’s LORIS program and that work was the motivation for my science
fair project this year.”
“My main goal is to provide a versatile alternative to commercial reaction wheels so that organizations with limited budgets can expand the types and number of missions they can pursue.”
What are the current outcomes?
I qualified for the Youth Science Canada Nova Scotia Regional competition after winning his school’s science fair. The regional competition was held this past week and I was selected as one of the 6 students to represent Nova Scotia at the National event to be held May 17-21.
I received some useful feedback from the judges and will be incorporating a few small changes to his project. (A bit more testing!) I am excited to be part of team Nova Scotia, and am hoping to make the LORIS team proud too.
In our April spotlight, we chat with Maxwell Power, the ADCS lead for the LORIS Mission. Max has been busy leading the ADCS and took over the subsystem more than a year ago. Maxwell keeps in touch with all the members of his subsystem including the mechanical and electrical designers to ensure this subsystem’s milestones are reached.
Maxwell Power, ADCS Team Lead, DSS – LORIS Mission
Where are you from and why did you choose to study at Dalhousie?
I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia and I chose to study at Dalhousie because it
offers a great engineering program and is in the Maritimes.
What you’re
studying?
I am studying Mechanical Engineering.
How did you come
to study your field/why are you interested in it?
I entered Mechanical Engineering because I have a passion for designing dynamic
systems such as robots and remotely operated vehicles. With both my parents
being Mechanical Engineers, I have had a lot of experience seeing what is
involved in the field and have grown up having a pretty good idea of what I
want to do.
What is your
subsystem for LORIS and does it do?
I am the Team Lead for the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS)
group as well as the Reaction Wheel Subcommittee. The ADCS subsystem uses
magnetic field sensors, sun sensors, and a gyroscope to determine the pointing
direction of the satellite and actuates magnetorquers and reaction wheels to
de-spin and orient the satellite in the desired direction.
How did you come
to be involved in the lab?
Back in 2019, I reached out to Arad and from that point on, I have continued to
become more involved with the project.
What is the thing
you’re most excited about for the LORIS mission?
I am currently very excited to see the reaction wheels coming together and
cannot wait to watch them spin-up for the first time. What excites me the most
is knowing that there is going to be a satellite soaring above Earth that we
all had a part in making.
One of the most involved and active members of the LORIS mission is our very own Nick Popp. Nick is heavily involved with two of our subsystems , and even helps other teams when they need help with all things mechanical related. He has done some instrumental Finite Element Modeling (FEM) and Thermal simulation, and we are very glad to have him. In this month’s issue of Spotlight, we will chat with Nick.
In this post, we will get to chat with Kenzie Timmons, the mechanical subsystem lead for the LORIS Mission. Kenzie has done an amazing job leading the mechanical subsystem that includes design and development of the chassis and integration and assembly of the final bus. Like all the other subsystem, this is complicated stuff and it takes great leadership to make sure everything is up to code.
Kenzie Timmons, DSS Mechanical Subsystem Lead, holding a model of the LORIS Satellite
Where are you
from and why did you choose to study at Dalhousie?
I
am originally from Inverness Nova Scotia but grew up in New Glasgow Nova
Scotia. Dalhousie is just the natural progression for Engineers in Nova Scotia,
I completed my first two years at Acadia University.
What you’re
studying?
I
am currently in my 4th year of Mechanical Engineering with Coop.
How did you
come to study your field/why are you interested in it?
I
have always loved math and physics but hate the theoretical nature behind them
once you get advanced enough within each. As a kid I enjoyed creating things
and for a long time I had no idea the exact study I wanted to do, but I
knew I wanted to use math and physics in real-world situations. It was not
until I learned that engineering is also called applied science that I started
looking further into the discipline. After learning that engineering is simply
using every science to create things that seem impossible, I knew it was
exactly what I was going to pursue.
What is your
subsystem for LORIS and does it do?
I
am the team lead for the Mechanical Subsystem within LORIS. Originally the
Chassis team, we handled the design of the metal framework that holds
everything together and ensured it met all requirements for deployment and
survival in space. As the project went on, Chassis became too specific for
the work we do. We now handle the modeling of all subsystems and created the
mechanical standards to follow within LORIS, we analyze both the structural and
thermal stresses of the entire satellite, and we design all testing
apparatus required by other subsystems. I like referring to us as the skeleton
that keeps everyone together!
How did you come to be involved with DSS?
In
Fall 2019 I got an email sent to all 3rd year mechanical engineers
seeking new individuals sent on behalf of the previous Chassis Lead. He gave me
an intro task and a week to model a keychain. I completed the task that
evening as I was too excited to wait, the next day I was on the team! Our lead
only had 4 more months until graduating, so along with my first task of
modeling the payload, the team was also instructed to think of a new lead. I
stepped forward, thinking I had no chance as I was only on the team for a
week, though turns out I was the only one to step forward! I spent the rest of
the semester making sure I get as much information as possible and it was in
that time, I truly found a love for LORIS and the work we do on this
team.
What is the
thing you’re most excited about for the LORIS mission?
Everything!
I, like many others, am a part of this mission because it is something I enjoy.
I get to join in on the general meeting every week and be in awe at how quickly
I get lost when software starts talking about their code, or OBC setting
up remote access and virtual sims, or Power talking about circuitry, only to
have them get lost when I start talking mechanical. DSS is full of amazing
minds and I get to see them in action every week.
Our LORIS cubesat mission is not only flying to space, but it’s also going to the Arctic. Earlier this year, we submitted the entirety of LORIS’s code to GitHub’s 2020 “Arctic Vault Program”, an initiative that plans to store open-source code in a specially-designed facility 250-metres below the permafrost of Svalbard near the North Pole. With only a select number of projects chosen to be placed in the vault, all of LORIS’s code will be preserved, ensuring its long existence for future generations.We sat down with LORIS’s Payload team lead, Liam Hebert, to speak more about the onboard software and what the Arctic Vault Program means to him.
Why did you choose to make LORIS’s code open source?
Liam Hebert: We chose to make LORIS’s software open-source because we believe that one of the core values of the CubeSat is educational outreach. As one of the only actively developed open source CubeSat projects out there, we believe that allowing people to peek into the magic under the hood can inspire future generations of CubeSats to be created. We also hope that our software can serve as an educational tool for students studying applications of software in space by looking into a satellite that will be in orbit. We hope that future CubeSats will be able to use our software as a starting point to create their own innovations, which we hope to benefit from as well. Seeing that the majority of our software is created on top of open source software,it only seemed fair to give back to the community that made this possible in the first place.
What is most exciting to you about the Arctic Vault Program?
LH: I’d say the most exciting part of the Arctic Vault Program is the longevity of the archive period. With the current standard set to be 500 years with goals to incorporate Microsoft’s Project Silica to extend the duration to 10,000 years, it is truly humbling to know that the efforts we produced with this project will last that long. It is crazy to think how much technology will probably have changed in that period of time and to have LORIS stand as an example of the technology of our time is amazing.
What is the job of the software and how does it work?
LH: My favorite question! The LORIS software collection consists of various independent modules that all share messages to each other. These modules include things such as the ADCS module (which ensures that we are always pointing at the Earth), the POWER module(bet you can’t guess what this one does) and my favorite module, the PAYLOAD module (which my team creates). These are all interconnected through a decentralized messaging system which allows one module to ask another module to do something and receive confirmation in return. An example of this would be the PAYLOAD module asking the ADCS module if we are pointed towards Nova Scotia and the POWER module to give power to the cameras that PAYLOAD requires. This cooperation between independent subsystems allows each module to run in parallel and allows for many fail safes if one system were to fail. Our messaging system was also custom made for our purposes through a partnership between the different software teams that compose the satellite, allowing us to create a slim and lean system thataccomplishes exactly our use case without making any compromises!Specifically, the PAYLOAD software coordinates the camera system that the LORIS satellitehas. This involves activating our cameras in the fastest way possible, taking the pixel values ofboth then compressing them on board the satellite for transmission. This all needs to happenwithout visual degradation, with tons of failsafes, and within 300 milliseconds! We do thisthrough speedy low-level optimizations and by using the OpenCV framework, thestate-of-the-art computer vision software library. We also need to seamlessly integrate with themessaging system above, which requires frequent partnership with the other systems onboard.
What is unique about LORIS’s code?
LH: In my own personal opinion, the unique nature of the satellite is that everything we mentioned above is open to the public. This allows the public to use our software to base their own future cubesats on. Additionally, we use a decentralized system filled with fail safes because space can be very uncertain at times, especially on computer hardware. Dalhousie Space Systems Labs is excited and thankful to Github for the opportunity to take part in this incredible project. Despite online challenges, thanks to volunteers like Liam Hebert and the rest of the LORIS mission team we continue to move forward towards assembling the LORIS prototype and Complete Design Review (CDR) scheduled in February of 2021.
Today the LORIS CubeSat team met with the Canadian Space Agency for the team’s Pre-Critical Design Review (pre-CDR). Our team leads, each in charge of a subsystem on-board LORIS, met virtually with experts from the CSA to review the current design of our satellite. Pre-CDR is the last review before presenting the final design of the spacecraft to the CSA, scheduled to take place in February 2021.
The
current team leads, along with DSS President Arad Garaghozli and former leads
on the project, presented an overview of each of LORIS’s critical systems,
including the attitude system, chassis, payload, ground station, and power
system. They also explained their design philosophies, testing results, as well
as any problems the CubeSat might expect to encounter going forward. These
reviews are critical to the success of LORIS when it eventually flies in space,
now slated for launch in late 2021. The team fielded questions from the CSA
representatives about each system, and the CSA provided advice in how to move
forward in ensuring the LORIS launches successfully. With this early shakedown
complete, teams will take the Agency’s feedback and implement it into the
spacecraft before it is officially presented next year.
As
LORIS moves closer to its prototyping and manufacturing phase, Dalhousie Space
Systems Lab continues to look for new volunteers. As the only
undergraduate-built and operated cubesat under CSA’s “Canadian Cubesat
Project”, the lab is always seeking out talent from anyone interested in becoming
part of this mission to space. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has brought
challenges and delays, the team continues to use this time to work on LORIS, as
well as the Aeolus ventilator system that the was released to the public
earlier last month. It is a testament to the incredible work of the Dalhousie
Space Systems Lab that our volunteers are now being recognized by employers,
with some members now securing lucrative engineering jobs after contributing to
the Lab.
If
you’re interested in becoming a part of Dalhousie Space Systems Labs, visit
dalorbits.ca or contact us through our Facebook page.
October was a busy time for the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab. This month brought many exciting things including, but not limited to: An expansion of our staff, growth of interest in space at Dalhousie University, a new office, Preliminary Design Review and the STRATOS program.
LORIS Updates
First up: Our top project at the lab, the LORIS CubeSat. On October 8th, Arad and the rest of our team leads took part in the Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) in Fredericton, NB. All subsystem teams gave in-depth presentations to the Canadian Space Agency. Feedback was then given by experts on how best the team can refine LORIS’s design to ensure each system works most effectively with one another and is safe to fly. During that time, we released a new animation showing off our BDOT attitude control system, which shows how LORIS will move around in space using a series of magnetorquers. The DSS has also been pushed to an 8-month schedule for delivery of LORIS. After subsystem construction is complete, DSS will begin building a “flat-sat”. A flat-sat involves the testing of all prototype subsystems on a piece of plywood. This allows us to test the spacecraft’s full operational capabilities without flying in space. This is a critical step in understanding how the subsystems are functioning and gives the team time to sort out any issues. At the latest, the flat-sat will be built by April 20, 2020, with all system documentation finalized by then as well. These will be submitted for the Critical Design Review (CDR) stage to ensure LORIS is ready to be manufactured and flown.
Dalhousie Space Systems Labs joins the CSA and other Canadian Cubesat Project teams in Fredericton.
We also showed off our new home in Halifax at O’Brien Hall on Morris St. DSS will now be managed here in addition to our lab space for integrating, testing, assembling LORIS. We have also acquired a critical piece of hardware for the lab: a new coffee machine aptly named “Mr. BrewNo Mars”.
Several of our subsystem components have arrived and begun testing, including the camera suite and on-board computer. In the first week of November, the team will meet for an interface design meeting to make sure the subsystems best communicate with each other. The LORIS team is also hard at work on the communications subsystem, including approval for our ground station and software for packeting data to be sent to and from the spacecraft. We are in the beginning stages of deploying antennas in the Halifax area. Additionally, the electrical design for our attitude control system (ADCS) is almost completed and the solar cells are currently undergoing testing. Vibration testing is the critical next step in the prototyping phase and is a top priority for the Chassis team.
The first of our solar cells begins testing. Here we are experimenting with the movement of the light source and the solar cells energy output. This will be critical when LORIS moves around in orbit.
InterTalk Critical Information Systems, who joined DSS for the Halifax Space Apps Challenge, has also shown interest in this project and will lend technical support.
NASA Space Apps Challenge
For the first time ever, NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge took place in Halifax at Dalhousie’s Goldberg Computer Science Building. Hosted at ShiftKey Labs in collaboration with Dalhousie Space Systems, SuperNOVA and Emera ideaHUB, students joined thousands of others around the world in creating technology and software which utilized real data acquired by CSA and NASA. The 60 students in attendance were joined by several prestigious sponsors including representatives from InterTalk Critical Information Systems, MDA and Lixar.
Each of the student teams competed over a 48-hour period, developing a variety of applications in geomagnetic, orbital debris, interplanetary systems, and Earth/oceanography. Teams were assessed by judges from ShiftKey Labs, SuperNOVA, Emera ideaHub, and Dalhousie Space Systems Lab president Arad Gharagozli. The grand winners of Space Apps developed a system for ocean microplastic cleaning while others developed everything from power technology for venus to an eco-awareness video game. DSS also had two of its own staff members on a team that developed a rewritable, nonvolatile memory for operation in dangerous environments. The winners and runners-up received prizes ranging from brand-new Nintendo Switches to Raspberry Pis.
Finally, as part of CSA’s high-altitude balloon program “STRATOS”, Dalhousie Space Systems is happy to announce that it will be providing engineering and technical support to students interested in participating. STRATOS allows universities to submit scientific payloads to fly on a weather balloon to the edge of space. DSS is reaching out to undergrads, just as it did for LORIS, to lead the project team. This initiative represents our ongoing commitment to providing Dalhousie undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in real space missions and the industry.
We’re proud to have InterTalk Critical Information Systems as our Sun-level sponsor! InterTalk, who graciously donated to help make the Halifax Space Apps Challenge a reality, is focused on providing the highest-quality emergency and information systems on the market. Since 1997, they have designed a variety of products to serve dispatchers, radio operators, the transport industry, nuclear and hydropower, and even the government. As our sun-level sponsor, InterTalk is invited to send five representatives to share their expertise with participants. And interest at the company in becoming a mentor is skyrocketing. Later this week, InterTalk will select representatives from their excited team of experts who look forward to collaborating with Dalhousie students and giving back to the community.
For InterTalk, NASA Space Apps will be a learning experience where they will help guide students on their own paths to success and at the same time learn how they can best serve those in the province, a top priority for the company. As part of their goal of growing their own community interaction and engagement, NASA Space Apps for InterTalk best represented a chance for them to make a difference. Being the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, InterTalk will approach Space Apps with fresh eyes come October 18th. From specialists in radio, software design, physics and more, InterTalk is planning to send their “best and brightest” to help participants succeed. Not only does the company want to explore the space market, they also wish to expand their relationship with Dalhousie University.
InterTalk has a flexible line of products including the InterTalk Radio Dispatch Console System, Encompass Mobile Dispatch Unit, the data analysis software Interstat, Transcript™ for complete communication logging, and more. With years of experience behind them, they work to merge complex communication systems together into stable and dependable platforms. And their commitment to reliability and performance is represented by their unique dual-ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certifications which, based on over 150 national standard bodies, marks them as a leading innovator in global solutions.
In Space Apps, InterTalk sees themselves: an Atlantic Canadian technology incubator run by people eager to make a difference in the world. As established as the company is, InterTalk considers themselves as entering a growth phase in which not only do they seek to attract graduating students looking for work, but also to explore the variety of ways they can be more involved in public initiatives.
Be sure to look out for InterTalk at the hackathon! To explore more about the company, please visit https://intertalksystems.com/.
From October 18-20, Atlantic Canada for the first time will become part of the worldwide, student-borne think tank for space known as the “NASA International Space Apps Challenge”. At the challenge, students will have the opportunity to create technology using real data acquired by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Dalhousie’s University’s Shiftkey Labs will host this free 48-hour “hackathon” together with the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab, SuperNOVA and Emera IdeaHub. The four presenters of the Space Apps Challenge during the weekend will be the directors and managers of these groups, all who bring with them experience in innovative technologies and environments.
Over a two-day period, student teams work with mentors, spawning new and innovative applications from NASA and CSA data in nine different critical areas. These include asteroid data, RADARSAT-1 data, ocean/coastal data, exoplanets, and even the moon, amongst others.
The event’s sponsors who call Nova Scotia their home include LIXAR, Engineers Nova Scotia, Intertalk, Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association, Dalhousie University, Digital Nova Scotia, Venture Canada, Nova Scotia Business Inc. and MDA. These prestigious sponsors aren’t just contributing financially to the hackathon, they will also provide mentorship to the students, crucial connections to the industry and serve as judges of each of the team’s final product.
Although registration is currently full, those interested can enter onto the waitlist. To register, simply go to the Space Apps webpage, click register, and find Halifax, Nova Scotia on the NASA Space Apps location list. You will need to login or register in order to sign up.
For your convenience and to find out more about the Halifax Space Apps Challenge, please visit https://halifaxspaceapps.dalorbits.ca/. They can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
DSS Spotlight
