Development of an altitude control system for the LAICAnSat platform

This work aims to improve the control subsystem integrated into the LAICAnSat platform, specifically altitude and landing control system. The LAICAnSat is a project that engages students and researchers from several engineering fields, such as aerospace, mechatronics and electrical engineering, to ensure the development of a low cost modular platform for high altitude scientific, remote sensing services and applications using the design standard of CubeSats. The problem considered in this paper is related with the development of a modular platform able to perform long fluctuation at high altitude through a regulation system equipped with a valve for automatic release of Helium gas. The proposed altitude control system may also be explored in order to allow the quick return of the platform from the stratosphere. The proposal consists of building a valve that contains a Helium-releasing actuator and a sensor that can measure the temperature and pressure inside the balloon. In this framework, by using a proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller), the goal is to control the maximum altitude for the mission, as well as to analyze the possibility of performing a controlled landing by deflating the balloon. The development of the first prototype of the valve and some preliminary tests are presented and discussed.