BiSKY Team: Advanced Electronics in Student Rocketry
BiSKY Team is a group of young university students from the UPV/EHU dedicated to developing our own experimental suborbital rockets. We are students involved in innovation in the aerospace field. We work together to design, manufacture and launch our own vehicles, participating in projects that allow us to grow both technically and personally, promoting and contributing to the innovation of student rocketry.
BiSKY Team has extensive experience in designing and manufacturing multiple PCBs.
Therefore, it may be difficult for us to select a single PCB that represents all our skills. This year, we have developed an especially representative board internally, known as ‘Veleta’. It was developed through Eurocircuits, which helps us to guarantee consistency in our design and high quality.
This PCB has been designed to be installed on top of our new launch rail, with the aim of being able to measure critical mission parameters such as:
- Direction of the wind
- Wind speed
- Rail inclination
To achieve this, we designed a four-layer PCB with controlled impedance, capable of managing multiple high-speed signals. We also integrated an ATSAME54N20A microcontroller (MCU), which is capable of processing the data from various sensors and communicating with the rest of the system.
One of the key features of the design is the integration of Ethernet communication via the 100BASE-TX standard. By using the microcontroller’s MAC controller alongside an external PHY, we achieve a data speed of up to 100 Mb/s. The track lengths must match and the impedance must be strictly controlled to ensure signal integrity.
The figure attached clearly shows the Ethernet connections that link the MCU to the PHY. While the 100BASE-TX section is one of the design’s highlights, the board incorporates:
- GPS receiver
- IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)
- USB connectivity
As with Ethernet lines, both GPS and USB lines required significant impedance control to function reliably in mission conditions.
Using the boards provided by Eurocircuits, the Control Department has developed two fundamental PCBs that will be part of one of Bisky Team’s most recent projects: the control panel of the Hybrid Motor Test Bench. The first PCB switches 24V control signals for pneumatic valves. It operates using solid-state relays:
- MOSFETs
- Optocouplers
In this way, signals of 5V logic are transformed into 24V power signals, ensuring electrical isolation and safe and efficient switching.
The second PCB focuses on data acquisition. integrating excitation and measurement circuits for strain gauges to provide precise and reliable force measurement throughout motor testing.
These developments reflect BiSKY Team’s technical level, and our ability to address complex electronic systems, from high-speed communications to precision instrumentation.
We would particularly like to highlight our experience with Eurocircuits. Whose support has been essential. Whose speed, quality and reliability enable us to bring our designs to life in real systems. The order for the boards arrived very quickly, which was key to meeting our development deadlines.
We fully trust Eurocircuits for the manufacture of our PCBs, and we are very satisfied to work with their products. The quality of their manufacturing and the reliability of their PCBs allow us to focus on the project without worrying about underlying problems.
For more information please visit the Bisky Team website.
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