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NASA ASCEND-T-MATS — Phoenix College Spring 2026

Full-stack simulation, firmware analysis, and mission reporting suite for the Phoenix College NASA ASCEND Balloon-2 high-altitude flight, integrated with the NASA T-MATS thermodynamic toolbox.

Table of Contents

  1. Repository Overview
  2. Sub-Projects at a Glance
  3. NASA T-MATS Toolbox
  4. ASCEND Spring 2026 MATLAB Suite
  5. Raw Data Files
  6. Sensor Hardware Reference
  7. Software Requirements
  8. Installation
  9. Repository File Map
  10. License
  11. Authorship & Credits

1. Repository Overview

This repository contains two integrated codebases:

Sub-project Language Purpose
T-MATS (T-MATS/T-MATS-master/) MATLAB / Simulink / C NASA thermodynamic simulation toolbox — turbomachinery, gas dynamics, propulsion
ASCEND-S26 (matlab_ASCEND_S26/) MATLAB Phoenix College NASA ASCEND Spring 2026 — balloon flight reconstruction, firmware analysis, science data processing

Both sub-projects are built and tested against MATLAB R2023b or later (R2024a recommended). The T-MATS Simulink library additionally requires the Simulink and Aerospace Toolboxes; the ASCEND suite requires only base MATLAB with the Signal Processing Toolbox for spectral analyses.

2. Sub-Projects at a Glance

NASA-ASCEND-T-MATS/
├── T-MATS/
│   └── T-MATS-master/          NASA open-source thermodynamic toolbox (Apache 2.0)
│       ├── Trunk/
│       │   ├── TMATS_Library/  Simulink block library (.slx) + MEX C sources
│       │   ├── TMATS_Support/  HTML block guides, color guides
│       │   ├── TMATS_Examples/ Brayton cycle, AGTF30 turbofan example
│       │   └── TMATS_Tools/    Gas-table builder, NPSS→T-MATS translator
│       └── Resources/
│           └── Testing/        Per-block SIL test beds
└── matlab_ASCEND_S26/          Phoenix College ASCEND simulation suite
    ├── ASCEND_S26_run.m        Master driver
    ├── payload_showcase.m      Payload + firmware showcase driver
    ├── config/                 Mission constants & payload BOM
    ├── src/
    │   ├── io/                 Ingestion, export, and report writers
    │   ├── models/             Physics, atmosphere, simulation, analysis
    │   ├── firmware/           Firmware-in-the-loop MATLAB companions
    │   └── viz/                All visualization functions
    ├── data/
    │   ├── raw/                Flight CSVs (converted from XLSX)
    │   └── processed/          Cached .mat files (git-ignored)
    ├── arduino/
    │   └── HailMaryV1f/        Exact flight firmware (.ino) archive
    ├── assets/
    │   ├── images/             Payload photos and branding
    │   └── data/               Public-release JSON exports
    ├── docs/
    │   ├── DATA_DICTIONARY.md  Column-by-column field reference
    │   ├── OPERATIONS.md       Launch & recovery procedures
    │   └── THEORY.md           Physics derivations and references
    └── reports/                Generated mission reports (git-ignored)

3. NASA T-MATS Toolbox

T-MATS (Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems) is a Simulink toolbox developed at NASA Glenn Research Center for the modeling and simulation of thermodynamic systems and their controls.

Key capabilities

  • Turbomachinery block set — compressor, turbine, burner, nozzle, inlet, bleed, mixer blocks; each implemented in portable C (MEX) and shipped with a .tlc code-generation target for real-time deployment.
  • Multi-loop iterative solver — Newton-Raphson Jacobian solver for closed-cycle and off-design steady-state convergence.
  • Gas property tables — a GasTableBuilder Cantera-backed GUI generates user-specific thermodynamic tables (2-D and 3-D lookup).
  • NPSS import tool — NPSStoTMATS_Tool maps a Numerical Propulsion System Simulation model into T-MATS block topology automatically.
  • Example systems — Brayton cycle (BraytonCycle.slx) and the AGTF30 turbofan model demonstrate complete propulsion system integration.

T-MATS Block library (partial)

Block File Description
Ambient Ambient_TMATS.c ISA atmosphere with humidity
Compressor Compressor_TMATS.c Map-based compressor with variable geometry
Burner Burner_TMATS.c Combustor with fuel/air ratio and blowout
Turbine Turbine_TMATS.c Map-based turbine, cooling air extraction
Nozzle Nozzle_TMATS.c Convergent/convergent-divergent, choked
Bleed Bleed_TMATS.c Bleed air extraction and re-injection
Controller PI ControllerPI_TestBed.slx Anti-windup proportional-integral controller

Detailed block documentation lives in T-MATS/T-MATS-master/Trunk/TMATS_Library/TMATS_Support/*.html and the generated BlockGuide.html.

T-MATS License

Apache License 2.0 — all equations derived from public sources; all default maps nonproprietary. See T-MATS/T-MATS-master/ for the complete license text.

4. ASCEND Spring 2026 MATLAB Suite

4.1 Mission Summary

Parameter Value
Mission Phoenix College NASA ASCEND — Spring 2026, Balloon-2
APRS Callsign KA7NSR-15
Launch UTC 2026-03-28 16:38:54
Launch site 32.87533 °N, 112.0495 °W — Maricopa County, AZ (419 m MSL)
Burst UTC 2026-03-28 17:39:36
Burst altitude 25,145 m (82,497 ft)
Total flight duration 89 minutes
Ground distance 57.37 km
Peak ascent rate 7.33 m/s average
Peak descent rate 63.56 mph (28.4 m/s)
Landing speed ~15.1 mph (6.7 m/s)
Payload flight mass ~1.64 kg (FAA Part 101 Light payload)
Balloon Kaymont 1500 g latex, He-filled (~4.2 m³ at launch)
Parachute Spherachute 36″ (Cd = 1.5)
Peak cosmic-ray dose 3.406 µSv/h @ ~63,300 ft (Pfotzer-Regener maximum)
Peak CPM 524 counts/min (GMC-320+)
Peak UV (4-sensor sum) 9,936.5 (relative units)
Min temperature 3 °C (BMP390 in-situ, published rounded)
Min pressure 1,242 Pa
Peak g-load 6.211 g @ 68,761 ft (T+3,844 s)
Max ground speed 93 km/h

4.2 Directory Layout

matlab_ASCEND_S26/
│
├── ASCEND_S26_run.m            ← MASTER DRIVER (start here)
├── payload_showcase.m          ← Payload + firmware showcase driver
│
├── config/
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_config.m     Mission constants, file paths, balloon/payload specs
│   ├── payload_systems.m       Full hierarchical payload BOM (mass, CG, MOI, sensors)
│   └── payload_engineering.m   Derived structural/thermal/aero engineering numbers
│
├── src/
│   ├── io/
│   │   ├── ingest_trajectory.m     APRS CSV → timetable (171 fixes)
│   │   ├── ingest_windspeed.m      Wind-altitude CSV → timetable
│   │   ├── ingest_geiger.m         GMC-320+ CSV → timetable (3,792 samples)
│   │   ├── ingest_multisensor.m    PMS5003+SCD30 CSV → timetable (4,171 samples)
│   │   ├── ingest_arduino.m        UV+BMP390+IMU CSV → timetable (10,010 samples)
│   │   ├── ingest_website_*.m      JSON importers for public website artifacts
│   │   ├── ingest_all.m            Batch ingestion with .mat cache
│   │   ├── export_kml.m            Google Earth KML flight track writer
│   │   ├── export_gpx.m            GPX 1.1 chase-team navigation track writer
│   │   ├── export_payload_bom.m    CSV + Markdown BOM exporter
│   │   └── write_mission_report.m  Full mission Markdown report writer
│   │
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── atm_us1976.m            US Standard Atmosphere 1976 (0–86 km)
│   │   ├── compute_ground_track.m  Vincenty inverse geodesic (WGS-84)
│   │   ├── build_wind_profile.m    Wind vector profile interpolator
│   │   ├── simulate_3d_ascent.m    3-DOF wind-coupled RK4 ascent integrator
│   │   ├── analyze_flight_dynamics.m  Dynamic pressure, Mach, Re, N², shear
│   │   ├── model_cosmic_ray.m      Pfotzer-Regener cosmic-ray flux model
│   │   ├── model_uv_ozone.m        Beer-Lambert UV / ozone column model
│   │   ├── igrf13_field.m          IGRF-13 dipole geomagnetic field approximation
│   │   ├── sensor_fusion_attitude.m  Madgwick 9-DOF AHRS filter
│   │   ├── monte_carlo_dispersion.m  500-trial CEP50/95 landing ellipse
│   │   ├── link_budget_aprs.m      144.39 MHz APRS link budget (FSPL, SNR, margin)
│   │   └── detect_flight_events.m  Event detector: release / stratosphere / Armstrong /
│   │                               Pfotzer-Regener maximum / apex / landing
│   │
│   ├── firmware/
│   │   ├── firmware_decode_csv.m       Parse 37-column asusux.csv (exact V1f schema)
│   │   ├── firmware_decode_packed.m    Unpack bno_cal and health packed bytes
│   │   ├── firmware_validate_data.m    Range-clamp validation with prev-value substitution
│   │   ├── firmware_flight_phase.m     Altitude-driven phase state machine
│   │   ├── firmware_detect_impact.m    Impact detector (armed on DESCENT)
│   │   ├── firmware_health_summary.m   Sensor uptime, stale streaks, RAM trace
│   │   ├── firmware_eeprom_pack.m      GPS fix → 24-byte EEPROM packer
│   │   ├── firmware_eeprom_unpack.m    EEPROM bytes → GPS fix unpacker
│   │   ├── firmware_ubx_airborne.m     Regenerate 44-byte UBX-CFG-NAV5 Airborne <1g>
│   │   └── firmware_simulate_flight.m  Firmware-in-the-loop synthetic flight log
│   │
│   └── viz/
│       ├── viz_trajectory.m        6-panel trajectory dashboard
│       ├── viz_atmosphere.m        US-1976 vs BMP390 column comparison
│       ├── viz_science.m           Pfotzer + UV + PM/CO2 + T/RH science panels
│       ├── viz_imu.m               Gyro / accel / magnetometer dashboards
│       ├── viz_3d_globe.m          ENU 3-D trajectory globe
│       ├── viz_simulation.m        Simulation vs flight overlays
│       ├── viz_thermal_power.m     Lumped-capacitance thermal + L91 power budget
│       ├── viz_wind_profile.m      Hodograph + speed/direction vs altitude
│       ├── viz_link_budget.m       APRS FSPL / SNR / link margin vs altitude
│       ├── viz_dispersion.m        Monte Carlo CEP50/95 landing ellipse
│       ├── viz_payload.m           Mass / power / CG / MOI engineering dashboards
│       ├── viz_phase_timeline.m    Annotated mission event timeline
│       ├── viz_aerodynamics.m      Mach, dynamic pressure, Reynolds, N²
│       └── animate_flight.m        MP4 flight animation renderer
│
├── arduino/
│   └── HailMaryV1f/
│       └── HailMaryV1f.ino         Exact as-flown Arduino firmware (archived)
│
├── data/
│   ├── raw/                        Flight CSV files (source of truth)
│   │   ├── parameterization_of_elapsed_time_vs_altitude_for_Balloon_2_Spring_2026_launch__Sheet1.csv
│   │   ├── windspeed_vs_altitude_calculation__Sheet1.csv
│   │   ├── Geiger_counter_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv
│   │   ├── sorted_multisensor_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv
│   │   └── processed_arduino_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv
│   └── processed/                  Cached .mat timetables (auto-generated, git-ignored)
│
├── assets/
│   ├── images/                     Real payload photos and branding artwork
│   └── data/
│       ├── fall2025_payload.json   Prior semester payload reference
│       ├── spring2026_payload.json     Public-release payload metadata JSON
│       ├── spring2026_imu_public.json  Public-release IMU dataset JSON
│       ├── spring2026_radiation_public.json  Public-release radiation JSON
│       ├── spring2026_aprs_track.json  Public-release APRS trajectory JSON
│       └── spring2026_telemetry.json   Public-release combined telemetry JSON
│
├── docs/
│   ├── DATA_DICTIONARY.md          Column-by-column reference for all timetables
│   ├── OPERATIONS.md               Launch day timeline, crew roles, recovery SOP
│   └── THEORY.md                   Full physics derivations and citations
│
├── reports/                        Generated reports (auto-created, git-ignored)
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_summary.txt
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_MISSION_REPORT.md
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_dashboard.html
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_flight.kml
│   ├── ASCEND_S26_flight.gpx
│   └── payload_bom.csv
│
└── figures/                        Generated figures (auto-created, git-ignored)

4.3 Quick Start

%% 1. Add MATLAB path and run full pipeline
cd matlab_ASCEND_S26
results = ASCEND_S26_run();           % full pipeline: ingest → simulate → validate → report

%% 2. Optional flags
results = ASCEND_S26_run('NoSim',  true);    % skip dynamic simulation (fast preview)
results = ASCEND_S26_run('Quick',  true);    % skip thermal / power / Monte Carlo
results = ASCEND_S26_run('NoFigs', true);    % suppress figure rendering

%% 3. Render flight animation (requires results struct)
animate_flight(results.D, results.cfg);      % outputs figures/ASCEND_S26_flight.mp4

%% 4. Payload + firmware showcase
results = payload_showcase();                % uses firmware-simulated flight log
results = payload_showcase('csv', 'arduino/HailMaryV1f/asusux.csv'); % real V1f log

Expected run time: ~3–8 minutes on a modern workstation (Monte Carlo + animation dominate).

4.4 Configuration

All mission constants are centralized in a single file:

matlab_ASCEND_S26/config/ASCEND_S26_config.m

Editing this file rewires the entire pipeline. Key configuration sections:

Section What it controls
cfg.paths.* All directory and file paths (auto-creates data/processed/, figures/, reports/)
cfg.mission.* Launch time, callsign, launch site, burst altitude, flight duration
cfg.truth.* Ground-truth values from flight: landing coords, burst time, peak dose, max g-load
cfg.balloon.* Balloon mass, burst diameter, drag coefficient, helium fill volume, free lift
cfg.payload.* Total mass, per-module masses, battery type
cfg.atm.* Reference atmosphere selection flag
cfg.sim.* Simulation time step, RK4 substeps, Monte Carlo trial count (default: 500)

Balloon configuration excerpt:

cfg.balloon.type         = 'Latex sounding (1500 g class)';
cfg.balloon.mass_kg      = 1.500;
cfg.balloon.burst_diam_m = 9.44;       % manufacturer burst diameter
cfg.balloon.cd           = 0.30;       % drag coefficient (sphere)
cfg.balloon.fill_volume_m3 = 4.20;    % at launch
cfg.balloon.free_lift_N  = 9.81*0.85; % nominal free lift

4.5 Data Ingestion Pipeline

Raw XLSX (Google Sheets export)
        │
        ├─► xlsx_to_csv.py (tools/)  ──► data/raw/*.csv   (one-time conversion)
        │
        └─► ingest_all.m  ──────────► D struct (in-memory timetables)
                                      │
                                      ├── D.trajectory   171 APRS fixes, UTC-based
                                      ├── D.wind         wind profile vs altitude
                                      ├── D.geiger       3,792 GMC-320+ samples
                                      ├── D.multi        4,171 PMS5003 + SCD30 samples
                                      └── D.arduino      10,010 UV + BMP390 + IMU samples

Cache behavior: On first run, ingest_all processes all CSVs, computes derived columns (vertical velocity, g-load, phase labels, UTC conversion), and saves a .mat cache to data/processed/. Subsequent runs load the cache instantly unless source CSVs have changed.

Time-base unification: All five datasets are on independent clock domains. The ingestion layer converts each to UTC and provides a common t_s (seconds since launch) reference column. The geiger and multisensor loggers ran on local Phoenix MST; conversion is handled at ingestion.

4.6 Physics & Simulation Models

US Standard Atmosphere 1976 — atm_us1976.m

Implements the full 8-layer piecewise barometric formula valid 0–86 km (extrapolated above). Returns:

Output Symbol Unit
Temperature T K
Pressure P Pa
Density ρ kg/m³
Speed of sound a m/s
Dynamic viscosity µ Pa·s
Kinematic viscosity ν m²/s

Geometric altitude is converted to geopotential altitude using the WGS-84 Earth radius (6,356,766 m) before layer lookup. Sutherland's law provides viscosity.

3-DOF Wind-Coupled Ascent — simulate_3d_ascent.m

RK4 integrator coupling vertical buoyancy and drag with horizontal wind advection. State vector: [x_E, y_N, z_up, v_E, v_N, v_z]. Forces:

  • Buoyancy: F_b = (ρ_air − ρ_He) · g · V_balloon(h) with balloon volume expanding as V(h) = V_0 · (P_0/P(h)) · (T(h)/T_0) (ideal gas).
  • Drag: F_d = 0.5 · ρ_air · Cd · A(h) · |v_rel|² where v_rel = v_balloon − v_wind.
  • Wind: interpolated from D.wind using altitude as the independent variable.

Pfotzer-Regener Cosmic-Ray Model — model_cosmic_ray.m

Empirical Pfotzer-Regener flux curve fit to the GMC-320+ CPM data:

CPM(h) = A · exp(−(h − h_pfotzer)² / (2·σ²)) + C_bg

Parameters A, h_pfotzer, σ, and C_bg are fit via nonlinear least squares against the flight data. The model is validated against the observed Pfotzer maximum at ~63,300 ft with a peak dose of 3.406 µSv/h.

Beer-Lambert UV / Ozone Model — model_uv_ozone.m

Single-layer Beer-Lambert fit to AS7331 UV irradiance vs altitude:

I(h) = I_inf · exp(−τ · exp(−h/H))

where I_inf is the extraterrestrial flux, τ is the effective ozone optical depth, and H is the ozone scale height. Fit to the 4-sensor UVA/UVB average. Inter-sensor agreement is tracked to flag degraded sensors.

IGRF-13 Geomagnetic Field — igrf13_field.m

Dipole approximation of the IGRF-13 model for the flight region (Sonoran Desert, ~33°N). Returns:

  • Declination (°E)
  • Inclination (°)
  • Total field intensity (nT)
  • North, East, Down components (nT)

Used to validate the LIS3MDL magnetometer readings during the IMU analysis.

Madgwick 9-DOF AHRS — sensor_fusion_attitude.m

Implements the Madgwick gradient-descent attitude filter fusing:

  • ICM-20948 3-axis gyroscope (°/s)
  • ICM-20948 3-axis accelerometer (g)
  • LIS3MDL 3-axis magnetometer (µT)

Outputs quaternion attitude history, Euler angles (roll/pitch/yaw), and filter convergence diagnostics.

Monte Carlo Dispersion — monte_carlo_dispersion.m

500 independent trials varying:

Parameter Distribution σ
Parachute Cd Normal ±5%
Payload mass Normal ±3%
Burst altitude Normal ±500 m
Wind speed (each layer) Normal ±15%
Wind direction (each layer) Normal ±10°

Outputs: CEP50 and CEP95 landing ellipse semi-axes and orientation, drift-range histogram, and 2-sigma landing polygon overlaid on a map.

APRS Link Budget — link_budget_aprs.m

Full Friis transmission link budget for 144.390 MHz KA7NSR-15:

Parameter Value
TX power 1 W (30 dBm)
TX antenna gain 0 dBd (quarter-wave whip)
RX antenna gain 3 dBd (j-pole at digipeater)
FSPL formula 20·log10(d) + 20·log10(f) − 147.55
Required SNR 10 dB (AX.25 1200 baud)
System noise figure 6 dB

Computes link margin vs altitude, identifies first-acquisition range, and flags packet-loss windows during descent below ridge line.

Flight Event Detection — detect_flight_events.m

Automatically labels the following events from the trajectory timetable:

Event Detection criterion
Release First APRS fix; vz > 1 m/s
Stratosphere entry Altitude crosses 11,000 m MSL
Armstrong limit Altitude crosses 19,202 m (63,000 ft) — water-body boiling point
Pfotzer-Regener maximum Peak CPM in geiger timetable
Apex / burst vz transitions from positive to negative
Nominal landing Last APRS fix; vz < 1 m/s

Aerodynamic Analysis — analyze_flight_dynamics.m

Derives the following from the trajectory and US-1976 atmosphere:

Quantity Symbol Description
Dynamic pressure q 0.5 · ρ · v² — structural load
Mach number M `
Reynolds number Re `ρ ·
Total mechanical energy E KE + PE per unit mass
Brunt–Väisälä frequency N² Atmospheric static stability
Wind shear ∂v/∂z Layer-by-layer wind gradient

4.7 Firmware Archive & Analysis

The exact as-flown Arduino firmware is archived at:

arduino/HailMaryV1f/HailMaryV1f.ino

The firmware runs at a 500 ms sample period (writeInterval) and logs 37 columns to asusux.csv on the onboard SD card. The MATLAB firmware companion functions in src/firmware/ implement the same logic in pure MATLAB so that flight data and simulated data are interchangeable.

Firmware CSV Schema (37 columns)

Column group Columns Notes
Timing elapsed_ms, sample_n Milliseconds since boot; sample counter
GPS lat, lon, alt_m, sats, hdop, fix Scaled integers packed for EEPROM
BMP390 pres_pa, temp_c, alt_bmp_m Barometric altitude
ICM-20948 Gyro gx, gy, gz °/s, raw scaled
ICM-20948 Accel ax, ay, az g, raw scaled
ICM-20948 Mag mx, my, mz µT (via LIS3MDL companion)
UV uva1..4, uvb1..4, uvc1..4 mW/cm² per sensor triad
Derived vz_ms, az_g, flight_phase Firmware-computed
Packed bytes bno_cal, health Bitfield: sensor calibration / health flags
RAM free_ram Bytes free on Arduino heap

EEPROM Pack/Unpack

firmware_eeprom_pack.m and firmware_eeprom_unpack.m implement the 24-byte EEPROM encoding used to store the last known GPS fix across power cycles (critical for cold-start recovery after battery swap). The round-trip is validated as part of payload_showcase.

UBX-CFG-NAV5 Airborne Mode

firmware_ubx_airborne.m regenerates the exact 44-byte UBX-CFG-NAV5 packet sent by the firmware to the u-blox MAX-M8Q to enable Airborne <1g> dynamic model (required for GPS to function above 12 km; standard pedestrian/automotive modes report 0 altitude above this ceiling). The packet is byte-for-byte verified against the u-blox M8 protocol specification (UBX-18010854).

4.8 Visualization Suite

All figures are saved to figures/ as both .png and .pdf. Run ASCEND_S26_run() to generate all; individual viz_*.m functions may be called standalone with a loaded results struct.

Figure index Function Content
01 viz_trajectory 6-panel: altitude/time, vertical velocity, ground speed, course, 2-D ground track, 3-D altitude-colored track
02 viz_atmosphere US-1976 T/P/ρ column vs BMP390 in-situ measurements; sensor health check
03 viz_science Pfotzer cosmic-ray flux + model fit; UV irradiance (4-sensor); PM2.5/PM10 vs altitude; CO2, T, RH profiles
04 viz_imu Gyroscope (x/y/z °/s); accelerometer (x/y/z g + magnitude); magnetometer (x/y/z µT); derived roll/pitch/yaw
05 viz_simulation Sim vs flight altitude overlay; velocity residuals; energy budget
06 viz_thermal_power Lumped-capacitance thermal model: external skin, internal air, sensor nodes; L91 battery coulomb-counting
07 viz_3d_globe ENU 3-D trajectory colored by phase, with burst and landing markers
08 viz_payload Mass budget pie; power budget; CG position vs mass; principal MOI eigenvalues
09 viz_phase_timeline Timeline bar with annotated events (release, stratosphere, Armstrong, Pfotzer, apex, landing)
10 viz_aerodynamics Dynamic pressure (Pa); Mach number; Reynolds number; total energy; Brunt–Väisälä N²; wind shear
11 viz_dispersion Monte Carlo 500-trial scatter; CEP50/CEP95 ellipses; drift-range histogram
12 viz_link_budget APRS FSPL vs altitude; SNR vs altitude; link margin (dB); packet acquisition/loss windows
13 viz_wind_profile Wind hodograph (vE vs vN); speed and direction vs altitude
— animate_flight MP4 animation: real-time altitude/velocity trace with phase shading and APRS fix markers

4.9 Validation Philosophy

Every physics model is independently benchmarked against flight data. No free parameters are tuned without physical justification.

Model Validation dataset Metric
US-1976 temperature BMP390 in-situ temperature column RMSE, R²
US-1976 pressure BMP390 pressure column RMSE, R²
3-D ascent simulation APRS GPS trajectory RMSE altitude, RMSE ground track
Pfotzer-Regener model GMC-320+ CPM vs altitude RMSE CPM, peak altitude error
Beer-Lambert UV model AS7331 4-sensor average RMSE irradiance, inter-sensor σ
IGRF-13 dipole LIS3MDL total field intensity % deviation from IGRF
Madgwick AHRS Static ground epoch (known level) Roll/pitch bias, yaw drift rate
EEPROM pack/unpack Round-trip test (no hardware) Bit-exact match
UBX-CFG-NAV5 Known-good packet (u-blox datasheet) Byte-exact match

Numerical validation results are written to reports/ASCEND_S26_MISSION_REPORT.md automatically.

4.10 Output Artifacts

After ASCEND_S26_run() completes:

Path Type Description
figures/01_trajectory_dashboard.{png,pdf} Figure 6-panel altitude / velocity / ground track
figures/02_atmosphere.{png,pdf} Figure US-1976 vs BMP390 column
figures/03_science.{png,pdf} Figure Pfotzer + UV + PM/CO2 + T/RH
figures/04_imu.{png,pdf} Figure Gyro / accel / mag dashboards
figures/05_simulation.{png,pdf} Figure Sim vs flight overlays
figures/06_thermal_power.{png,pdf} Figure Lumped-capacitance thermal + L91 power
figures/07_3d_globe.{png,pdf} Figure ENU 3-D trajectory
figures/08_payload.{png,pdf} Figure Mass / power / CG / MOI
figures/09_phase_timeline.{png,pdf} Figure Annotated mission event timeline
figures/10_aerodynamics.{png,pdf} Figure Mach, q, Re, N², shear
figures/11_dispersion.{png,pdf} Figure Monte Carlo CEP50/95
figures/12_link_budget.{png,pdf} Figure APRS FSPL / SNR / margin
figures/13_wind_profile.{png,pdf} Figure Hodograph + speed/dir vs altitude
figures/ASCEND_S26_flight.mp4 Video Full flight animation
reports/ASCEND_S26_summary.txt Text Numeric mission summary
reports/ASCEND_S26_MISSION_REPORT.md Markdown Full graduate-level mission report
reports/ASCEND_S26_dashboard.html HTML Self-contained shareable dashboard
reports/ASCEND_S26_flight.kml KML Google Earth flight track
reports/ASCEND_S26_flight.gpx GPX 1.1 Chase-team navigation track
reports/payload_bom.csv CSV Bill of materials
reports/payload_engineering.md Markdown Structural / thermal / aero engineering summary
data/processed/*.mat Cache Timetables, sims, dynamics, attitude, MC results

4.11 Payload Showcase Entry Point

payload_showcase.m runs every engineering analysis module against the flight payload in sequence. It accepts either a real V1f CSV or generates a synthetic firmware-simulated log.

results = payload_showcase();                          % synthetic log
results = payload_showcase('csv', 'path/to/asusux.csv'); % real flight log

Execution order:

  1. firmware_decode_csv — parse 37-column asusux.csv (packed bytes, scaled-integer GPS, derived columns)
  2. firmware_simulate_flight — generate synthetic log if no CSV provided (500 ms period, altitude-driven phase state machine)
  3. firmware_health_summary — per-sensor uptime %, stale-streak detection, free-RAM trace, phase durations, impact detection re-run
  4. Payload engineering dashboards — CAD render, structural, thermal skin, aerodynamics, power, link budget, sensor summary
  5. viz_firmware_replay — 6-panel telemetry replay: altitude (phase-shaded), vertical velocity, accel magnitude (15 g impact line), UV totals, sensor health raster, staleness + free RAM
  6. viz_payload_dynamics — tilt angle, |ω|, rotational KE, angular momentum, complementary-filter attitude, roll vs roll-rate phase plane
  7. viz_payload_vibration — Welch PSD per axis, |a| STFT spectrogram, descent-phase acceleration histogram
  8. viz_payload_kalman — constant-acceleration Kalman fusion of BMP390 barometric altitude with BNO055 vertical accelerometer; filtered v_z state
  9. viz_payload_allan — overlapping Allan deviation of BNO055 gyro axes from ground-phase: ARW / bias instability / RRW
  10. viz_payload_uv_atmo — Beer-Lambert fit to AS7331 4-sensor average; inter-sensor agreement trace
  11. viz_payload_montecarlo — 500-trial descent dispersion; 1σ and 2σ landing ellipses; drift-range histogram
  12. export_payload_bom — write reports/payload_bom.csv and reports/payload_engineering.md
  13. Firmware self-tests — UBX-CFG-NAV5 packet regeneration; EEPROM pack/unpack round-trip

4.12 Data Dictionary Summary

Full column-by-column documentation is in docs/DATA_DICTIONARY.md. Summary:

D.trajectory — 171 APRS fixes (KA7NSR-15)

Field Unit Notes
t (RowTime) datetime UTC First fix: 2026-03-28 16:38:54
t_s s Seconds since launch
lat / lon °N / °E WGS-84
alt_m / alt_ft m / ft MSL GPS WGS-84
gs_mph mph APRS-reported ground speed
course_deg ° Course over ground
vz_ms m/s Derived dh/dt
az_g g Derived dv_z/dt
phase string launch / ascent / apex / descent / landed

D.geiger — 3,792 GMC-320+ samples

Field Unit Notes
t datetime UTC Converted from Phoenix MST
cpm counts/min Raw tube count
dose_uSvph µSv/h CPM × tube conversion factor

D.multi — 4,171 PMS5003 + SCD30 samples

Field Unit Notes
pm25 / pm100 µg/m³ Particle mass concentrations
co2_ppm ppm NDIR CO₂
temp_C / rh_pct °C / % SHT31 internal to SCD30

D.arduino — 10,010 UV + BMP390 + ICM-20948 + LIS3MDL samples

Field Unit Notes
uva1..4 / uvb1..4 / uvc1..4 mW/cm² Per-sensor triad
UVA_mWcm2 / UVB_mWcm2 mW/cm² 4-sensor mean
pres_pa / temp_c / alt_bmp_m Pa / °C / m BMP390
gx / gy / gz °/s ICM-20948 gyro
ax / ay / az g ICM-20948 accel

4.13 Operations & Launch Timeline

Full procedures in docs/OPERATIONS.md. Key timeline:

T-time Event
T−180 min Arrive at 32.87533°N, 112.0495°W
T−90 min Begin He fill (~4.2 m³ at 99.99% purity)
T−30 min Power on all loggers (Geiger, multisensor, Arduino UV/IMU)
T−15 min APRS beacon active (60-second interval)
T−5 min FAA courtesy notification
T = 0 Release — 16:38:54 UTC
T+60 min Expected apex (25,145 m)
T+89 min Observed apex / burst
T+~150 min Expected impact (dispersion median)

Recovery: Drive to Monte Carlo median landing zone; final 5 km on 144.39 MHz handheld. Visual-spot orange/white box. Power off all loggers before transport. Secure SD card and EEPROM.

Post-flight: Run ASCEND_S26_run() to generate full report. Archive data/raw/ to OneDrive. File post-mission report with NASA ASCEND program.

4.14 Reproducibility

  • Random seed is fixed (rng(20260328)) at the top of every Monte Carlo and simulation run.
  • Every cached .mat file includes a snapshot of the cfg struct used to generate it.
  • All UTC conversions are explicit; no implicit local-time dependencies.
  • The firmware simulation uses rng(0) by default; override with opts.seed.
  • MATLAB version pinned: R2023b (tested; R2024a recommended).

5. Raw Data Files

File Source instrument Samples Time base
parameterization_of_elapsed_time_vs_altitude_for_Balloon_2_Spring_2026_launch__Sheet1.csv APRS / aprs.fi 171 fixes UTC
windspeed_vs_altitude_calculation__Sheet1.csv APRS-derived wind segments ~140 rows UTC
Geiger_counter_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv GMC-320+ geiger counter 3,792 rows Local MST
sorted_multisensor_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv PMS5003 + SCD30 on Arduino MEGA 4,171 rows Local MST
processed_arduino_data_Spring_2026__Sheet1.csv UV triads + BMP390 + ICM-20948 + LIS3MDL 10,010 rows Elapsed ms

All files are UTF-8 CSV. The tools/xlsx_to_csv.py script was used for initial conversion from Google Sheets XLSX export.

6. Sensor Hardware Reference

Sensor Module Measurand Interface Altitude limit
u-blox MAX-M8Q APRS tracker GPS position, altitude, ground speed NMEA UART 50,000 m (Airborne <1g> mode)
BMP390 Arduino stack Pressure, temperature, barometric altitude I²C 0x77 No limit (pressure → 0)
ICM-20948 Arduino stack 3-axis gyro, 3-axis accel I²C/SPI No mechanical limit
LIS3MDL Arduino stack 3-axis magnetometer I²C 0x1C No limit
AS7331 ×4 Arduino stack UVA, UVB, UVC spectral irradiance I²C No limit
PMS5003 Multisensor PM0.3–PM10 particle counts UART Degraded performance <50 mbar (~20 km)
SCD30 Multisensor CO₂ (NDIR), temperature, RH I²C 0x61 Spec: 0–50,000 ppm CO₂
GMC-320+ Geiger module CPM, µSv/h USB serial log No limit
Byonics MicroTrak RTG APRS tracker 144.390 MHz AX.25 APRS RF No limit

7. Software Requirements

ASCEND Suite

Requirement Minimum Recommended
MATLAB R2022b R2024a
Signal Processing Toolbox Required for Welch PSD, STFT, Allan deviation —
Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox Optional (Monte Carlo CI calculations) Recommended
Mapping Toolbox Optional (KML/GPX export enhanced) Optional
Parallel Computing Toolbox Optional (Monte Carlo speedup) Recommended

T-MATS (in T-MATS/T-MATS-master/)

Requirement Notes
MATLAB + Simulink Required
Aerospace Toolbox Required for some example models
Stateflow Required for control logic blocks
MATLAB Coder Required for MEX compilation
Cantera Optional — only for GasTableBuilder

8. Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Personfu/NASA-ASCEND-T-MATS.git
cd NASA-ASCEND-T-MATS

Set up the ASCEND suite

% In MATLAB:
cd matlab_ASCEND_S26
% No toolbox installation required beyond base MATLAB + Signal Processing Toolbox
% Run the master driver:
results = ASCEND_S26_run();

Set up T-MATS

cd T-MATS/T-MATS-master
% Follow installation instructions in Trunk/UsersManual.pdf
% Install the Simulink library:
run('Trunk/TMATS_install.m')

Convert raw XLSX (if re-exporting from Google Sheets)

pip install openpyxl
python tools/xlsx_to_csv.py --input path/to/export.xlsx --outdir matlab_ASCEND_S26/data/raw/

9. Repository File Map

NASA-ASCEND-T-MATS/
├── .gitattributes
├── .gitignore
├── README.md                          ← this file
├── T-MATS/
│   └── T-MATS-master/                 NASA T-MATS thermodynamic toolbox (Apache 2.0)
└── matlab_ASCEND_S26/                 Phoenix College ASCEND Spring 2026 suite
    ├── ASCEND_S26_run.m
    ├── payload_showcase.m
    ├── README.md                      ← detailed ASCEND-specific README
    ├── config/
    │   ├── ASCEND_S26_config.m
    │   ├── payload_systems.m
    │   └── payload_engineering.m
    ├── src/
    │   ├── io/                        (12 functions)
    │   ├── models/                    (14 functions)
    │   ├── firmware/                  (11 functions)
    │   └── viz/                       (14 functions + animate_flight)
    ├── arduino/
    │   └── HailMaryV1f/
    │       └── HailMaryV1f.ino
    ├── data/
    │   ├── raw/                       (5 CSV files — flight source of truth)
    │   └── processed/                 (auto-generated .mat cache — git-ignored)
    ├── assets/
    │   ├── images/
    │   └── data/                      (6 JSON files — public release artifacts)
    ├── docs/
    │   ├── DATA_DICTIONARY.md
    │   ├── OPERATIONS.md
    │   └── THEORY.md
    ├── reports/                        (auto-generated — git-ignored)
    └── figures/                        (auto-generated — git-ignored)

10. License

Component License
T-MATS (T-MATS/T-MATS-master/) Apache License 2.0 — © NASA
ASCEND Suite (matlab_ASCEND_S26/) MIT License — © 2026 Personfu / Phoenix College NASA ASCEND

11. Authorship & Credits

ASCEND Simulation Suite designed and authored by Personfu — Senior Engineering / Simulation Architect, Phoenix College NASA ASCEND program, Spring 2026.

T-MATS developed by NASA Glenn Research Center on behalf of the NASA Aviation Safety Program's Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) project. All T-MATS equations derived from public sources; all default maps and constants nonproprietary.

Flight data captured by the Phoenix College NASA ASCEND Spring 2026 team during Balloon-2 mission (KA7NSR-15), launched 2026-03-28.

For questions, open an issue on this repository or contact the Phoenix College NASA ASCEND team.

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