What sets us apart

A flight computer that understands the flight

Most flight computers rely on barometric data for altitude estimation. These measurements can be disturbed during transonic flight or when pressure inside the avionics bay differs from the surrounding air. Vega combines accelerometer measurements with barometric data in a Kalman filter to estimate altitude and vertical velocity.

The filter runs at 100 Hz and adapts to the flight phase. During powered ascent, it relies primarily on the accelerometer, reducing the influence of pressure disturbances. During coasting, it gradually increases its reliance on the barometer as the rocket slows, correcting accumulated estimation drift and supporting apogee detection.

Vega also uses sustained acceleration to detect launch. Pressure changes during a long wait on the launchpad therefore do not trigger launch detection.

Together, these mechanisms help prevent misleading pressure readings from being mistaken for flight events and reduce their effect on altitude and velocity estimates.

One connected system, from setup to insight

From configuration to recovery, every part of the CATS system is designed to work together. Before launch, CATS Configurator connects directly to Vega so recovery events, outputs, timers, telemetry, and flight settings can be prepared in one place. Preflight checks then turn that configuration into a clear, reviewable flight sequence.

During flight, Vega controls the mission, stores a high-rate onboard record, and sends the essential live information to the Ground Station. The same flight states used by the estimator drive recovery actions, appear in telemetry, and remain attached to the recorded data. What happens onboard and what you see on the ground are parts of the same system.

After recovery, the logs can be opened directly in the Configurator or CATS Flights for interactive plots, event review, GNSS replay, sharing, and deeper analysis. Because the hardware, firmware, and applications are open source, you can inspect how the complete chain works: from the first sensor reading to the final flight report.