Transcript SDC Mihaly Horanyi Page 1 The Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC) A Presentation to the National Council of Space Grant Directors Michael T.

SDC
Mihaly Horanyi
Page 1
The
Venetia Burney
Student Dust Counter (SDC)
A Presentation to the National Council of Space Grant Directors
Michael T. McGrath
Engineering Director
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
The University of Colorado at Boulder
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SDC Project -- A New Kind of EPO
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EPO Goal: Give students a chance to design, build, operate, & study
data from a planetary flight experiment
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Objective: Students have the primary responsibility for the design and
development of the SDC
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Science Goal: Make the first dust density & size spectrum observations
beyond 18 AU
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Suggested by New Horizon’s PI Dr. Alan Stern
• PI Mihaly Horanyi Invited from POSSE team
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Premier Opportunity on a NASA Mission
– Performance Bar Incredibly High
– High Visibility
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For Students:
– Extraordinary Education and Training Opportunity
– “Once in a Lifetime” Experience
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Student Instruments on NASA Missions
• Risk
– Technical
• Interface to Spacecraft System
• Benign Failure Mode
• Limited Interaction i.e. Power On
– Programmatic
• Fixed Launch Date
• Academic Calendar
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Not Business As Usual
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Educational Process
– Allowance for Trial and Error Learning
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Status Meetings
– Cross Disciplinary Classroom
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Maturing Process
– Implications for Outcome
– Emotional Commitment
• No Tests or Grades
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Extraordinary Teaching Environment
– Continual Transfer of Information
– Professional Staff as Teachers
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Not Efficient
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What is SDC?
Active Area of 0.1 m2
Detector Assembly (18’’ x 12’’)
Electronics Box (5’’x8’’x2’’)
Intra-Harness
2 Kg 5 Watts
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How It Works
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Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)
Polarized
Pyroelectric Response
Impact Removes Material
– Change in Potential
– Understand Mass and Size
• Difficult Measurement
– Impact Event: 0.1 Nanosecond
– Realistic: 0.1 Microsecond
• Compromises
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The First Students
Anselm Fernandez, Flemming Christiansen, Chelsea Bryant, Gene Holland
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Professional Support and
SDC Organization Chart
Principal Investigator
Dr. Mihaly Horanyi
Color Key
Professional
Graduate Student
Program Manager
Gene Holland
EPO
Undergraduate
Fran Bagenal
Cori Krauss
Mechanical
Subsystem
Electrical
Subsystem
Software
Subsystem
Thermal
Subsystem
PVDF Detector
Development
Heather Reed
Neil White
Gail Tate
Bret Lamprecht
Ginger Drake
James Mack
Tom Reese
Matt Colgan
Gene Holland
Chelsey Bryant
Ervin Krauss
Vaughn Hoxie
Beth Grogan
Nick Bunch
Otto Krauss
Tim Chanthawanich
Anselm Fernandez
Mike Neeland
Anselm Fernandez
At Least One LASP Professional
Oversees Each Subsystem
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Milestones
PDR
Heidelberg tests
CDR
PER
PSR
Ship
Mihaly Horanyi
6/2003
7/2003
10/2003
6/2004
8/2004
9/2004
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Electronics Box
Digital Board
Mihaly Horanyi
Analog Board
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Testing
University of Chicago
LASP
MPI-K Heidelberg, Germany
Mihaly Horanyi
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New Horizons Spacecraft at JHU/APL
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Why Dust and This Mission?
• Interplanetary and Interstellar Dust
• Knowledge Ends at Saturn
– Pioneer, Cassini, Ulysses, Galileo
• New Horizons Mission and Spacecraft Ideal
– Stable Thermal Environment
– Mission Design -- Quiet Due to Hibernation Periods
– Past Experience with Project Staff
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When and Where
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Results: lasp.colorado.edu/sdc
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Looking Back
• Professional Mentorship Model Validated
– Initial Student-Directed Team Experienced Frustration
• Students Excel Given Direction and Support
• Technical Interface Was Quickly Developed
– Concerns Were Minimized
• Programmatic Interface Was Challenging
– Perception of Risk Remained
– New Horizons Essentially a Class A Mission
– Full NASA Oversight and Reviews
• Strong Emotional Commitment to Success
– Passion
• Institutional Commitment to Program
– Financial and Programmatic Resources
– Time, Attention and Direction
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