Design phase
Backplane
One shared connector standard that carries power rails and CAN between every board in the stack.
What it does
The backplane ties the stack together with a single connector standard for the power rails and the CAN bus. RF stays off the backplane. Samtec SFM/TFM 1.27 mm through-hole connectors were chosen for their flight heritage on OreSat.
Keying
Four layers keep every board in the right slot: asymmetric connector placement, slot-specific guide pins, silkscreen labels and an electronic slot ID.
Status
Draft. The connector trade study and keying standard are written; the interface control document is next.