First Nations Launch 2025 – UC Davis Payload System

Overview

This repository documents the payload system used by the University of California, Davis in the 2025 First Nations Launch Rocketry Competition for the Moon challenge. The payload collects in-flight motion, rotation and pressure data using sensors sensors, and logs this data to an SD card throughout the rocket’s flight.

Awards Received In Competition

• 1st Place Overall
• 1st Place in Written Report
• 1st Place in Oral Presentation

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Components

• Arduino Uno R4
• MicroSD Card Reader and MicroSD Card
• 9V Battery
• BMP280 – Pressure & Temperature Sensor
• SparkFun 9DoF IMU Breakout (ISM330DHCX + MMC5983MA) – IMU Sensor

Wiring Notes

• Both sensors communicate over I²C. Their addresses do not conflict, allowing them to share the same I²C bus.
• If using Qwiic connectors:
  • Blue wire → SDA
  • Yellow wire → SCL
• On the Arduino Uno, the I²C pins are:
  • A4 → SDA
  • A5 → SCL
• It is recommended to use screw terminal blocks to secure wires for flight reliability.

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Data Logging

Sensor data is logged every 2 seconds into separate .txt files on the SD card:

BMP280 (Environmental Data)

• Temperature (°C)
• Pressure (Pa)
• Calculated Altitude (m)

ISM330DHCX (IMU Data)

• Acceleration (mg)
• Angular Velocity (mdps)

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MATLAB Data Plotting Scripts

This repository includes two MATLAB scripts that visualize the collected sensor data:

• Plotting_Pressure_Data.m

  • Reads graphBMP.txt
  • Plots pressure, temperature, and altitude over time

• Plotting_9DoF_Data.m

  • Reads position.txt
  • Plots acceleration and angular velocity across all three axes

Place the .txt files in the same directory as the MATLAB scripts before running them.