A contained biological experiment developed as a microsatellite-scale instrument, with coordinated mechanics, sensing, electronics, imaging, and reference control software.
How would an autonomous instrument distinguish a visible repair from a joint that actually transfers force? The study defines a sequence that creates a controlled separation, introduces an assigned repair treatment, records the interval, and measures the resulting mechanical behavior.
The membrane is the experimental specimen. Containment, cartridge handling, sensing, power, and communications remain conventional engineered subsystems. Their interfaces must preserve both the experiment and its evidence.
The safety controller owns motion, valves, and measurement. A separate imaging computer owns cameras and files. Camera readiness is a prerequisite for a scheduled damage event; camera or storage failure cannot grant authority to operate the blade.
The selected layout contains 24 specimens in six four-position cassettes. Cartridge identity connects commands, images, calibration, and raw force samples. A failed channel remains a failed observation rather than being replaced with a more favorable result.
Only one cartridge undergoes mechanical testing at a time. High-load activities depend on a power grant. Imaging cadence, heating, storage, and measurement are considered together. The specification’s power and mass figures are analytical allocations, awaiting physical and mission-specific closure.
The package moves beyond a product rendering into files that can be examined and developed further: STEP assembly models, DXF drawings, three electronics placement floorplans, a software data path, a firmware state-machine definition, and a behavioral reference controller.
These results support the digital artifacts and reference behavior. They do not validate flight firmware, physical interlocks, biological repair, force accuracy, or environmental qualification.
| Workstream | Evidence needed before advancing |
|---|---|
| Measurement | Traceable force calibration, grip and interface offsets, converter behavior, and repeatable raw-to-corrected data. |
| Biology and containment | Ground repair experiments, inactive controls, batch repeatability, storage viability, and provider-reviewed leak and retention requirements. |
| Electronics and mechanics | Component-level schematics, real footprints, routed PCB design, bench tests, clearance and tolerance analysis, and fabrication review. |
| Mission integration | Orbit-dependent power and link analysis, environmental tests, mission endurance, and host or launch-provider acceptance. |
The source is a narrative design exercise, not a customer delivery or flight mission. KiCad artifacts are unconnected placement floorplans, not released boards. Illustrative biological traces in the original specification are synthetic and are not used here as performance evidence.
Source basis: Living Loom Design Specification, LL-SPEC-001 Rev A, 14 October 2026; companion README, CAD validation records, and software test record. This editorial study summarizes the supplied digital package and its stated evidence limits.
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