OpenAstro Node

** 2. Control

Concept

A headless, autonomous astrophotography controller designed for low-power Linux devices (RPi/Jetson). It manages hardware, executes imaging sequences, and ensures rig safety — set up, start the sequence, and go to sleep with confidence.

Quick Facts


Status	** 2. Control
Language	N/A
Started	2026

What This Is

An autonomous astrophotography controller that runs on Raspberry Pi or Jetson, managing cameras (via INDI/gphoto2) and mounts (ZWO AM5, Benro Polaris). It provides both a responsive web UI and a terminal TUI for remote control, with a “Goodnight Protocol” safety system that monitors star quality, battery, and weather to protect equipment.

Key Features

INDI Hardware Abstraction: Unified camera and mount control with discovery and failover
Reactive Safety (“Goodnight Protocol”): Monitors star quality (HFR), battery levels, and weather — parks, warms, and closes if conditions degrade
Dual Interface: React web UI with night vision mode (strict true-red) and Rust TUI for SSH control
Real-Time State: WebSocket snapshots at ~1Hz with immediate events, UI prefs persistence
Precision Tracking: PHD2 guiding integration, meridian flip, plate-solving via ASTAP

Architecture

React Web UI / Rust TUI
    ↕ WebSocket + REST API
Rust Backend (Axum)
    ├── State & Sequencing Manager
    ├── Hardware Control (INDI)
    │   ├── Camera Imager
    │   ├── Mount Controller
    │   └── Guiding (PHD2)
    ├── Smart Logic Engine
    └── Database (SQLite)

Milestones

Phase 1: Foundation (Complete — 8/8 plans) INDI integration, camera/mount hardware abstraction, target management, background storage.

Phase 2: Control & Safety (Complete — 9/9 plans) Web UI with night vision mode, TUI for SSH, real-time state transport, targets CRUD.

Roadmap:

Phase 3: Autonomous Imaging — Guided calibration wizard (darks/flats), Goodnight Protocol safety shutdown
Phase 4: Precision — Advanced sequencing (wait for altitude, loop until time), multi-rig sync between nodes

Tech Stack

Rust (Axum, Tokio, SQLite), React (TypeScript, Tailwind CSS), INDI, PHD2, ASTAP plate-solving

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