LUMA

LUMA serves to centralize and maintain command and control capabilities within the BalloonSat program to allow for custom balloon flight profiles.

To accomplish this, the LUMA system consists of modules that can be assembled into a payload. These include modules for venting helium from the balloon envelope, manual or automatic flight termination, long range communications, and more! These capabilities allows for rideshare payloads to exert fine grained control over their flight path and automatic pathing for targeted recovery.

LUMA Core

LUMA Core serves as the brains of the payload, coordinating commands to and from other modules, tracking and updating the planned flightpath, and communicating with rideshare payloads.

Vent/DROP

Vent/DROP is the central altitude control module for the LUMA system. It allows for controlled venting of helium from the balloon envelope for controlled descent, as well as automatic flight termination.

Long Range Comms

Using a custom APRS-inspired radio implementation, the Long Range Comms module allows for the LUMA system to communicate with the ground station to relay flight status or update mission paths.

LUMA Leadership

Core leadership responsible for system design, integration, and mission execution

Evan Champney

Project Lead

ewc0007@uah.edu

Drew Early

Chief Engineer

jae0025@uah.edu

Lukas Hezel

Electrical LumaLead

ljh0020@uah.edu

Joseph Kloess

Mechanical LumaLead

jbk0020@uah.edu

Nikki Allen

Software LumaLead

nca0009@uah.edu

Riley Galatis

Radio LumaLead

rpg0008@uah.edu

Planned Development

The LUMA System is designed to be highly extensible and modifiable, with numerous other modules planned for later development:

Ballast - By venting Isopropyl alcohol with an onboard pump the module can decrease the weight of the LUMA payload, allowing it to stabilize and rise after having vented helium.

Range Extension - This module contains extra batteries for long duration flights.

Satellite Communications - Additional communication capabilities allow for backup communications or missions to further ranges than radio can allow.

PULLSTAR - While the conventional LUMA system allows for targeted recovery, PULLSTAR features propellers that allow for finer grained control of the recovery location, similar to a blimp.