Control Application and Instrumentation for Space Electronics Testing

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to develop a low-cost test set-up with the instruments used in thermal-vacuum tests for space missions equipment, and to design an application in order to control all the devices from a single computer. After a prior analysis based on the specified requirements of the system, the complete design process is structured according to the following contents blocks: explanation of each instrument’s specifications and communication protocol, design of the control application and Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the design and manufacturing of a PCB to implement a heat radiator. This thesis is orientated towards a commercial product able to implement reliable tests for clients, but also intents to serve as an academic project for student interests, making an approach to the space engineering sector, specially for tests methods and performance. In addition, the project covers a variety of fields of study such as Electronics and instrumentation, programming, Industrial Design, and Aerospace topics. At the end, in order to prove the correct performance of the complete system, various tests are executed