A passion project



Rocket Talk is a collection of personal passion projects developed by my son and I over the past twelve years that support the experimental and university rocket community. The name originated from our first flight telemetry and tracking projects and the need to "talk live" to our rockets, but expanded to include other custom communication and control systems for rocketry. The design objective from the beginning has been to create powerful full-feature systems, using off the shelf MCUs, radios, components and easy to learn IDEs, so that they could be open sourced to student teams. All of the projects shared here should be considered a work in progress and a foundation for learning.

Mike & Preston



Rocket talk flight computer



Radio telemetry, tracking, staging and events





Version 5.1: A full-featured experimental flight computer system that supports live telemetry, GPS tracking, staging, four pyro events, FTS, camera control, and other critical data. Uses a Teensy 4.1 ARM MCU and a custom PCB vehicle board enabled with two accelerometers, barometer, gyro, pyro drivers, and a UBLOX M10 GPS. The base station is an iPad mini with iOS Swift code interfacing to a LoRa mesh radio for downlink.


GitHub Repository

OPEN gse controller



Loading, pressurization, recovery, DAQ, and launch control





Version 2.5: A liquid rocket GSE controller system that supports the LOX/Fuel loading, automated pressurization, disconnects, recovery arming, main valve control, and igniter ignition for a two tank blow-down vehicle. It also incorporates a full four-channel DAQ system for static fire testing. The primary remote is touch based using an iPad Mini and the secondary remote is an "all physical" analog version. Both remotes communicate to the controller using 433 MHz serial radios. Developed to support the FAR LR1 student kit rockets.


GitHub Repository

REDS - rocket EMERGENCY DEPRESSURIZATION SYSTEM



An isolated control system to depressurize tanks prior to launch





Version 1.0: This REDS box has four channels to control up to four vent valves using separate DTMF handheld radio commands. The two primary channels use DB15 connectors designed to be inline with the rocket tether and the GSE control box. The secondary two connectors have aux jacks. If the GSE controller malfunctions the REDS box can safely activate the rocket vent valves. Developed using an Arduino Nano and an MT8870 DTMF decoder.


more details soon...

super static daq



A field data acquisition system for static fire tests





Version 3.0: This self-contained DAQ system provides for two analog pressure transducer inputs and one load cell amplifier to capture motor performance. It has a 480x320 TFT display to view real-time data and display recorded thrust and pressure curves. It has a dozen settings and includes strobe light status indicators. It was developed using a Teensy 4.1, Adafruit 3.5" TFT, and uses an ADS1115 Analog to digital converter.


more details soon...

TINY DAQ



A single channel 200hz pressure transducer recorder





Version 1.0: This tiny DAQ uses a Mega328P MCU and an SD card to record a standard 5V pressure transducer signal and report back specifics about the sample/burn. It samples at 200 hz and is configurable for all standard PT ranges and can run in auto or manual mode. It has an even smaller little brother ("PT see") that is just a basic pressure transducer monitor, reporting real-time PSI with no recording capability.


more details soon...

REMOTE RECOVERY POWER CONTROL



A custom "flip flop" PCB to remotely power on recovery





Version 4.0: This custom PCB enables two separate flight computers or altimeters to be remotely turned on or off with a single 5v pulse, eliminating the need to power up avionics early or from outside the vehicle on the pad. It also has the ability to pass back to the GSE controller an "armed and ready" state from specific altimeters, indicating good pyro continuity and launch ready status. It uses a simple transistor-FET circuit and is optoisolated from the control signals.


more details soon...

"Clinging to the edge of the world, the human spirit has always been driven to explore the unknown, to expand the boundaries of what is possible. Our curiosity and tenacity have taken us to the stars, revealing not only the mysteries of the universe, but also the depths of our own consciousness. Through space exploration, we discover not only new frontiers, but also the limitless potential of the human spirit."





@PAD33space