CENSSAT-1_Rad_8: Fault Detection and Recovery in ASTRA-LEO Readout Electronics

ASTRA-LEO (Advanced Spaceborne Telescope for Radiation Analysis in Low Earth Orbit) is a compact neutron, gamma-ray and charged-particle instrument being developed at CENSSS, University of Oslo, for the CENSSAT-1 CubeSat mission. It combines inorganic and plastic scintillators with custom readout electronics in two complementary detector units. ASTRA-LEO offers MSc opportunities in detector development, electronics, integration, shielding, environmental testing and experimental characterisation. The topic below is a potential direction, the scope can be adapted or combined according to students’ skills and interests, the available hardware and the evolving needs of the project.
Our immediate priority is the completion, verification and handover of the Flight Models (FMs) for spacecraft integration by May 2027. Until then, activities will primarily support flight-hardware delivery. After handover, the focus will shift to extended testing, calibration and scientific characterisation of the Engineering Qualification Model (EQM), which will remain at UiO as a ground reference. MSc work can span both phases, and students will not be solely responsible for flight-delivery milestones.

Project description: Reliable autonomous readout is important for ASTRA-LEO in the low-Earth-orbit radiation environment. Possible activities include investigating practical detection and recovery of communication timeouts, FPGA/MCU lockups, unexpected resets and other representative readout failures. Working within the selected hardware architecture, the project may implement watchdogs, reset/reinitialisation sequences and fault-injection tests, while assessing any feasible reduced-function fallback mode. Priority will be given to narrowly scoped, testable changes that can support FM readiness; broader robustness studies can continue with the EQM.
Possible outcome: Tested recovery functions or a validated recovery testbed, documented fault-injection results and recommendations for autonomous operation.

Skills and background: FPGA logic (VHDL/Verilog), microcontrollers, C/C++, hardware debugging, test automation and digital communication.

Suitable student background: FPGA • Embedded firmware • Digital electronics