Design of an onboard computer for small experimental rockets with an integrated hardware-in-the-loop validation framework

Small sounding rockets provide an accessible, cost-effective platform for education and experimental research, especially at universities. In such projects, the onboard computer (OBC) is essential to mission reliability. It is responsible for sensor data acquisition, real-time flight-state detection, data logging, and actuation during recovery events. This work presents the design and implementation of a dedicated OBC for small experimental rockets, together with systematic validation using an integrated hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation framework. The proposed OBC integrates an ARM-based STM32F407 microcontroller, a multi-sensor measurement suite including inertial and barometric sensors, non-volatile data storage, dual pyrotechnic channels, a robust power-management subsystem, and a fully deterministic software architecture tailored for real-time flight-event detection. Complementing the flight hardware, the HIL environment reproduces the electrical, timing, and communication behavior of onboard sensors with high fidelity. Synthetic measurements derived from flight-dynamics simulations are injected through a dedicated interface, enabling end-to-end validation of data acquisition, state-transition logic, and onboard memory logging without requiring physical launches. Experimental HIL results demonstrate reliable detection of high-energy, low-energy, and apogee flight phases under realistic conditions, validating both the hardware design and algorithmic performance. The datasets and design files released with this work provide a reproducible foundation for educational and research activities in similar avionics projects. All files required to replicate the proposed onboard computer and HIL validation framework are openly available on Mendeley Data under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Hardware resources include complete Altium Designer project files and bills of materials for the avionics hardware, designed according to JLCPCB manufacturing constraints. The embedded software was developed using STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeMX (v6.12.1), based on the STM32CubeF4 and STM32CubeH5 firmware packages, written with the HAL library and documented with concise, field-validated comments. The repository also includes LabVIEW Community Edition 2022 Q3 Virtual Instruments used for HIL control, telemetry visualization, and data extraction, as well as experimental datasets obtained during HIL simulations, including real-time telemetry, onboard flash logs, and reference trajectories. Photos and videos of the onboard computer, HIL bench setup, and experimental configurations are additionally provided to support reproducibility and educational use.小型探空火箭为教育与实验研究，尤其是高校中的相关活动，提供了便捷且高性价比的平台。在此类项目中，星载计算机（Onboard Computer, OBC）对于任务可靠性至关重要，其负责传感器数据采集、实时飞行状态检测、数据记录，以及回收阶段的执行机构驱动工作。本研究介绍了一款面向小型实验火箭的专用星载计算机的设计与实现，并结合集成式硬件在环（Hardware-in-the-Loop, HIL）仿真框架开展了系统性验证。所提出的星载计算机集成了基于ARM架构的STM32F407微控制器、包含惯性与气压传感器的多传感器测量组件、非易失性数据存储模块、双烟火触发通道、高可靠电源管理子系统，以及专为实时飞行事件检测定制的全确定性软件架构。作为飞行硬件的配套系统，HIL环境能够高保真地复现星载传感器的电气特性、时序行为与通信机制。通过专用接口注入由飞行动力学仿真生成的合成测量数据，使得无需实际发射即可完成数据采集、状态转换逻辑以及星载内存记录的端到端验证。HIL仿真实验结果表明，该系统在真实工况下能够可靠检测高能、低能以及远地点飞行阶段，验证了硬件设计与算法性能的有效性。本研究公开的数据集与设计文件，为同类航空电子项目的教育与研究活动提供了可复现的基础支撑。 复现所提出的星载计算机与HIL验证框架所需的全部文件，已在Mendeley Data平台以CC BY-NC 4.0协议开源发布。硬件资源包含符合JLCPCB制造规范的航空电子硬件完整Altium Designer工程文件与物料清单（Bill of Materials, BOM）。嵌入式软件开发基于STM32CubeF4与STM32CubeH5固件包，使用STM32CubeIDE与STM32CubeMX（v6.12.1）完成，采用HAL库编写，并附带简洁且经过现场验证的注释文档。该开源仓库还包含用于HIL控制、遥测可视化与数据提取的LabVIEW Community Edition 2022 Q3虚拟仪器，以及HIL仿真过程中获取的实验数据集，其中涵盖实时遥测数据、星载闪存日志与参考轨迹。此外还提供了星载计算机、HIL实验台搭建与实验配置的照片与视频资料，以助力复现工作与教学应用。