UniSat documentation

One file per concern, organised by purpose. Start here if you are new.

Quick paths

I want to…	Read this
Clone, build, and fly a reference mission	guides/USAGE_GUIDE.md → guides/OPERATIONS_GUIDE.md
Pick the right mission profile	ops/README.md
Browse a complete mission pack (CDR + science + key data)	missions/README.md
Understand how the system fits together	design/architecture.md
Know what works and what is still TODO	project/GAPS_AND_ROADMAP.md
Look up an API	reference/API_REFERENCE.md
Submit to a competition	../COMPETITION_GUIDE.md + ops/<profile>.md

guides/ — user-facing walkthroughs

• USAGE_GUIDE.md — end-to-end step-by-step for someone who just cloned the repo. Covers every supported competition.
• OPERATIONS_GUIDE.md — 12-section playbook from profile selection to flight-day roles.
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md — common build / run / integration issues and their fixes.

ops/ — per-profile operations guides (one per form factor)

Granular ops for a specific vehicle class: setup → build → flight → post-flight.

• CanSat: cansat_minimal, cansat_standard, cansat_advanced
• CubeSat: cubesat_1u, cubesat_1_5u, cubesat_2u, cubesat_3u, cubesat_6u, cubesat_12u
• Other platforms: rocket_avionics, hab_payload, drone
• Index + selection flowchart: ops/README.md

missions/ — full mission documentation packs

Each subdirectory is a complete mission pack: CDR, science rationale, key-data format, presentation, poster, compliance checklist, and (recommended) a baseline SITL dataset. Use this when you need an end-to-end worked example.

• Index + comparison table: missions/README.md
• Blueprint for new packs: missions/_template/
• Shipped pack: missions/cansat_radiation/ — vertical gamma dose-rate profile (SBM-20 Geiger tube), targets cansat_standard.

design/ — architecture and design decisions

• architecture.md — layered architecture, bus map, form-factor registry
• universal_platform.md — how one code base serves 14 form factors
• mission_design.md — mission concept of operations
• communication_protocol.md — AX.25 + CCSDS wire format
• assembly_guide.md — physical assembly steps

budgets/ — quantitative analyses (CubeSat 3U reference)

• mass_budget.md — 3U component mass breakdown with margins. Per-profile BOMs live in ../hardware/bom/by_form_factor/.
• power_budget.md — solar generation, consumption, storage
• link_budget.md — UHF / S-band link calculations
• orbit_analysis.md — ground track, eclipse cycles, J2 perturbations
• thermal_analysis.md — orbital thermal environment

reference/ — API / standards / conventions

• API_REFERENCE.md — programmatic API surface
• TECHNICAL_DOCUMENTATION.md — full technical deep-dive (~1200 lines)
• STYLE_GUIDE.md — code + prose conventions (Google-derived)
• REQUIREMENTS_TRACEABILITY.md — REQ → source → test mapping

project/ — project state and regulatory

• GAPS_AND_ROADMAP.md — honest status, open work, out-of-scope items
• REGULATORY.md — licensing, export, radio regulation compliance
• POSTER_TEMPLATE.md — competition poster starter

adr/ — architecture decision records (8 ADRs)

Indexed in adr/README.md. Includes:

• ADR-001 — no CSP
• ADR-002 — style adapter
• ADR-003 — A/B key store
• ADR-004 — replay counter zero-sentinel
• ADR-005 — FDIR advisory split
• ADR-006 — .noinit persistent log
• ADR-007 — HAL shim strategy
• ADR-008 — command dispatcher wire format

hardware/ — hardware references

• CC1125_configuration.md — UHF transceiver register map
• radiation_budget.md — TID / SEE design budget per orbital class (STM32 + sensors + radios)

testing/ — verification and test plans

• testing_plan.md — overall V&V strategy
• hil_test_plan.md — hardware-in-the-loop bench procedure (bench BOM + 10 tests)

characterization/ — measured baselines

• power_profile.md — measured power consumption by task
• stack_usage.md — per-task stack high-water marks
• wcet.md — worst-case execution time per subsystem
• Index: characterization/README.md

verification/ — auto-generated verification artefacts

• ax25_trace_matrix.md — REQ → test mapping (auto-generated via make trace)
• driver_audit.md — proof every driver is real, not a mock

security/ — threat model + mitigations

• ax25_threat_model.md — T1 (injection) + T2 (replay) + mitigations

quality/ — CI-enforced quality gates

• static_analysis.md — cppcheck policy, coverage floors, sanitizers

reliability/ — FDIR and fault tolerance

• fdir.md — 12 fault IDs, severity ladder, advisor/commander split

requirements/ — Software Requirements Specification

• SRS.md — numbered REQs across 10 subsystems
• traceability.csv — REQ → source file → test (machine-readable)

operations/ — on-orbit operations runbooks

• commissioning_runbook.md — post-deploy activation checklist

sbom/ — software bill of materials (SPDX)

• sbom-summary.md — auto-generated by make sbom

tutorials/ — learning-oriented walkthroughs

• ax25_walkthrough.md — byte-by-byte beacon decode

diagrams/ — SVG block diagrams

Referenced from ../README.md and other docs.

superpowers/ — design specs + long-form implementation plans

Archived Track 1 (AX.25) design and implementation material under superpowers/specs/ and superpowers/plans/.