Situation
A multidisciplinary spacecraft effort combined flight computing, electrical power, subsystem interfaces, attitude determination and control, FPGA logic, embedded software, simulation, and student/research contributors.
The real obstacle
The challenge was not one isolated implementation task. It was creating a reliable system path across hardware, software, research objectives, test evidence, development environments, and team interfaces.
My role
I provided flight-hardware and systems leadership across the avionics stack, including design, integration, and test ownership for a fault-tolerant Zynq-based multi-board system and architecture for HWIL and flat-sat integration.
Technical approach
The work included interface definition, ADCS integration planning, hardware-in-the-loop connection to a high-fidelity dynamics simulator, reproducible FPGA and embedded development environments, CI/CD workflows, and practical mentoring around integration discipline.
Outcome and value
The program gained a clearer path from research uncertainty toward a repeatable, testable flight system, with stronger development workflows and more explicit technical and execution risks.
Public descriptions are intentionally limited to non-confidential architecture, integration, and leadership patterns.