STARRGazer is our very first visual rocket tracking system, built on top of StarrTracker. By integrating visual recognition models, such as YOLO, STARRGazer delivers enhanced tracking precision and real-time target identification.

The system consists of two primary components:

Tracking Tower:

Equipped with a DSLR camera, an antenna, and two stepper motors for 2-axis movements.

Control Console:

Powered by a GPU-enabled computer, the console runs the visual recognition models and offers manual control through an intuitive joystick interface

STARRGazer represents a significant leap forward in autonomous tracking technology, combining computer vision with mechanical precision to support advanced aerospace applications.

STARR has begun designing a new application for rocket tracking and recovery called StarrTracker. This software is a GUI application intended to be used with our ground station that provides an interface for club members to track the coordinates of the rocket in real time using the Featherweight GPS tracker installed in the rocket. The software reads data packets produced by the GPS tracker and determines the location of the other GPS tracker located inside of the rocket. This data is presented graphically inside of the GUI to show to members where the location of the rocket is in real time.

The SRAD Ground Station utilizes a single board computer and monitor contained within a rugged hard plastic case. Using StarrTracker, we will receive UART data from the Featherweight’s ground station over a USB connection. This, combined with the location data from an additional GPS tracker installed in the rugged case, will allow us to track the relative position of the rocket in the field as we power the computer with a portable power bank.