New Horizons Technical Details - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 09:09:50 am
content: http://www.uhf-satcom.com/amateurdsn/Paper-969.pdfTechnical details on the communication systems including diagrams and photos.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 09:32:15 am
content: And yes by the way, boys and girls, there are vacuum tubes flying out there in space. Predominantly, I think? (Maybe not newer Earth orbiting satellites, but they're top choice for all the deep space probes.)Tim

author: Dinsdale
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 11:43:17 am
content: From reddit.com:QuoteOh! They're "assembly language idiots"!

author: fcb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 01:32:26 pm
content: Quote from: Dinsdale on July 15, 2015, 11:43:17 amAnd how many of your designs are flying in space?

author: Dinsdale
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 02:18:11 pm
content: I was hoping to draw some more specific comments on the software for this mission.I thought everyone would be familiar with the part of my comment in quotes. If you are a big Dave fan (like me), you should recognize it.When I hit "Post", it struck me that this could start some kind of flame war that I didn't intend. So, if you need to comment "off topic", please start another thread. This one is too important.I apologize for being a smartass.To answer your question: A couple months ago, a vector board with 12 MOSFETs I fried... I think it's in space.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 03:38:25 pm
content: Only thing I see in the pdf is a bunch of FPGAs, I guess they are referring that they programmed the softcores in assembly.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 03:48:40 pm
content: Quote from: T3sl4co1l on July 15, 2015, 09:32:15 amCan you explain?

author: Dinsdale
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 04:23:34 pm
content: QuoteMy comment was in reference to the main processor. I thought that might fall under the topic of "New Horizons Technical Details". Sorry.But, apparently, after readinghttp://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3d9luh/were_scientists_on_the_nasa_new_horizons_team/a little more, there might have been some confusion about that answer and the code was probably mostly written in C.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 02:06:30 am
content: Quote from: zapta on July 15, 2015, 03:48:40 pmTravelling Wave Amplifier Tubes (TWTAs) are one of the more efficient wideband amplification methods, reasonably low noise, but most importantly: have been used in space since forever, so they're a *very* mature and reliable method. New Horizons has a pair of 12W amps.I expect satellites use semiconductor amplifiers as a matter of course, these days, but those are much more numerous and less of a liability if they die.Tim

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 02:56:43 am
content: Quote from: Dinsdale on July 15, 2015, 04:23:34 pmHere's the edited answer:Quote

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 02:57:54 am
content: Quote from: German_EE on July 15, 2015, 09:09:50 amDoes anyone know if they were able to turn on the dual-TWTA turbo mode mentioned in this paper?

author: rs20
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 03:40:11 am
content: Out of interest, is the data encrypted? Or could one (hypothetically, with a large enough array and enough protocol reverse engineering skill) pick up the signal and get the pluto pictures ahead of everyone else?I also enjoyed this tidbit: "A high-gain thermal control loop keeps the crystal resonator temperature stable to within severalthousandthsof a degree Celsius over the entire operating temperature range of the USO", and also the mention of regenerative circuits which I found amusing given the recent EEVBlog episodes.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 03:44:19 am
content: If they had put 10kW transmitters on it, perhaps. It's so weak, you're basically not going to get anything without a complete Deep Space Network to hear it, though!AFAIK, their comms are encoded, for spectral, error correcting, and compression reasons. But not encrypted as such.Tim

author: rbola35618
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 07:11:01 am
content: Hi EEBloggers,I worked on one of the instruments that is on board the New Horizon spacecraft. The instrument is called SWAP (Solar Winds Around Pluto). Specifically, I worked on the high voltage power. There are 5 or 6 high voltage power supplies the supply up to 4000 volts. The supplies were designed by my mentor who passed away three years ago, Jack Alexander. The other designer was Pat Casey. A fellow by the name of Dennis Guerrero designed the magnetics. Testing and calibration of the supplies was performed by Dennis with me as his assistant. It was a privileged to have worked with all of them. Since then, I have two of my designs flying in space. My first design to fly in space is called IBEW. My second design flying in space launched this year on the mission called MMS. Soon I will have a third flying on a mission called STRFIO. Presently working on a low voltage supply the will go to one of Jupiters moons on a spacecraft called JUICE?RB

author: fcb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 08:12:38 am
content: 5-6 lines is all we get rbola35618!!!!We want details, we want to hear about problems, we want to hear about silicon used and above all - we want numbers!!!

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 08:15:52 am
content: Agreed, more details about how you design and build space qualified hardware would be appreciated. Not just the launch vibration issues, there are also the problems of intense heat and cold plus years spent in a hard vacuum.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 09:25:49 am
content: Quote from: fcb on July 18, 2015, 08:12:38 amin other words, we want to hear all about the stuff you're not allowed to tell us

author: MikeW
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 09:33:44 am
content: Why not? It's not military stuff.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 10:22:29 am
content: I want to know why a probe was wasted on the boring none planet...

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 11:01:40 am
content: Quote from: Psi on July 18, 2015, 09:25:49 amAnd we want PHOTOS OF ALL THE SECRET THINGS!

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 11:12:46 am
content: Breaking news : nasa sends probe to uranus, people everywhere giggle...

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 01:15:45 pm
content: Speaking of, I wonder: would they be able to do a mission like Cassini, where they tour the moons, rings (if any) and monitor weather? And, being in that general neighborhood, might it be possible to arrange a sufficiently elliptical orbit that would allow for a low fuel transfer to/from Neptune/Uranus if/when nearby? (I'd have to check a chart to see if they're anywhere near each other in the immediate future, or if they ever approach very much.) Going to guess such an orbit is preposterously huge, given the vast distances between planets out there, so nevermind.Tim

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2015, 03:13:33 pm
content: There's nothing secret about the way they construct satellites so I'm hoping that interplanetary probes use the same techniques. A couple of years ago there was a documentary on Discovery where they showed the construction of one of the ASTRA satellites and they went into considerable detail. One thing I remember was the heating and cooling requirements where they used heat pipes to 'carry' heat from the hot side of the satellite to the cold side.The amazing thing was the size, one of the latest ASTRA satellites is about the same size as an American school bus and most of that is fuel tanks.