flight_controller_software

Software for the flight controller board in the PROVES Kit. We recent updated this to reflect the impending PROVES Kit V2. In that version of the kit we have both software in Circuit Python and C++ using the PicoSDK. The file tree has been updated to reflect this. Please access either the CircuitPy (for Circuit Python software) or PicoSDK (For C++ Software) as needed!

Also check out the development software repo for our latest experimental software!

Usage

Depending on whether you are trying to use the CircuitPython or PicoSDK software, there are some different steps you need to follow.

For CircuitPython load new software by doing the following:

1. Clone the branch you wish to put on your board to your local machine.
2. Connect to the target board so it mounts as an external drive.
3. Access the target board using a serial terminal and run the following code in the REPL to erase all of the existing code:

import storage
storage.erase_filesystem()

4. The target board will now disappear and remount. Once remounted, copy and paste the contents of the flight software folder for the target board from your GitHub repo.
5. When the new files are onboard you can verify that all the hardware on the board is working properly by opening a serial connection and typing one of the two following commands:

For Flight Controller Board

from pysquared import cubesat as c

For Battery Board

from pysquared_eps import cubesat as c

Development Getting Started

We welcome contributions so please feel free to join us. If you have any questions about contributing please open an issue or a discussion.

We have a few python tools to make development safer, easier, and more consistent. To get started you'll need to set up your python virtual environment (venv).

1. Create your venv python3 -m venv venv
2. Activate your venv source ./venv/bin/activate
3. Install required packages pip install -r requirements.txt

Precommit hooks

Everytime you make a change in git, it's called a commit. We have a tool called a precommit hook that will run before you make each commit to ensure your code is safe and formatted correctly. To install the precommit hook:

1. Install the precommit hook with pre-commit install

General Structure:

• boot.py This is the code that runs on boot and initializes the stack limit
• cdh.py This is the code that handles all the commands. A majority of this code is pulled from the cdh file developed by Max Holliday at Stanford.
• code.py This code runs the main operating system of the satellite and handles errors on a high level allowing the system to be fault tolerant
• detumble.py This code implements the B-dot algorithm and returns outputs that allow the system to do a controlled detumble with the satellite's embedded magnetourquer coils
• main.py This code tasks all the functions the satellite should do in a semi-asynchronous manner utilizing the asyncio library
• payload.py This code implements any desired payload. On the Pleiades missions, the payload has been the BNO055 IMU. Since the use of a stemmaQT connector allows multiple devices on the same bus, a BNO IMU could be used in conjunction with several other sensors if desired.
• safemode.py This code is unimplemented pending new firmware releases that allow the microconrtoller to perform a routine when in safemode

experimental

This software is completely experimental and is in development for helpful software related tasks.

• sf_hop.py This code is yet to be implemented in official flight software as it is desired to implement the ability to utilize several spreading factors to send different sized messages at different data rates

lib

This software contains all of the libraries required to operate the sensors, pysquared board, and radio module.

• asyncio This is the library responsible for scheduling tasks in the main code
• adafruit_bno055.py This is the library that is responsible for obtaining data from the BNO055 IMU
• adafruit_drv2605.mpy This is the pre-compiled library that is responsible for driving the magnetorquer coils using the drv2605 motor driver
• adafruit_ina219.py This is the library that is responsible for obtaining data from the INA219 Power Monitor
• adafruit_mcp9808.mpy This is the pre-compiled library that is responsible for obtaining data from the MCP9808 Temperature Sensor
• adafruit_pca9685.py This is the library that is responsible or driving the power to the satellite faces using the pca9685 LED driver
• adafruit_tca9548a.mpy This is the pre-compiled library that multiplexes the I2C line to each satellite face using the tca9548a I2C Multiplexer
• adafruit_veml7700.py This is the library that is responsible for obtaining data from the veml7700 Light Sensor
• adafruit_vl6180.py This is the library that is responsible for obtaining data from the vl6180 LiDAR sensor
• Big_Data.py This is a class developed to obtain data from the sensors on the 5 solar faces. Since all the faces maintain all the same sensors, this class handles the individual face sensors and returns them all to the main code.
• bitflags.py This is code that allows for some registers within the microcontroller to be written to and saved through power cycles
• debugcolor.py This is code that allows for easier debugging and is used by individual classes. Each class utilizes a different color and makes debugging substantially easier
• Field.py This is code that implements the radio module for sending and listening
• functions.py This is a library of functions utilized by the satellite to obtain data, detumble, run the battery heater
• pysquared.py This is a library that initializes and maintains all the main functions for the pysquared architecture
• pysquared_rfm9x.py This is a library that implements all the radio hardware. This code is a modified version of the pycubed_rfm9x which is a modified version of the adafruit_rfm9x file.

tests

This software is used for performing tests on the satellite