This paper describes the integration and implementation of a satellite flight simulator based on an air bearing system, which was designed and instrumented in our laboratory to evaluate and to perform research in the field of Attitude Determination and Control Systems for satellites, using the hardware-in-the-loop technique. The satellite flight simulator considers two main blocks: an instrumented mobile platform and an external computer executing costume-made Matlab® software. The first block is an air bearing system containing an FPGA based on-board computer with capabilities to integrate digital architectures for data acquisition from inertial navigation sensors, control of actuators and communications data handling. The second block is an external personal computer, which runs in parallel Matlab® based algorithms for attitude determination and control. Both blocks are linked by means of radio modems. The paper also presents the analysis of the satellite flight simulator dynamics in order to obtain its movement equation which allows a better understanding of the satellite flight simulator behavior. In addition, the paper shows experimental results about the automated tracking of the satellite flight simulator based a virtual reality model developed in Matlab®. It also depicts two different versions of FPGA based on-board computers developed in-house to integrate embedded and polymorphic digital architectures for spacecrafts applications. Finally, the paper shows successful experimental results for an attitude control test using the satellite flight simulator based on a linear control law.

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Virtual laboratory experiments for the electronics course in the program of Electrical Engineering students at University of Mexico (UNAM) has been developed employing data acquisition (DAQ) systems, LabVIEWTM Instrumentation software. These applications will be very attractive once they become connected to Internet so that it will be feasible to exchange information between students and teachers with ongoing experiments in real time. Up to now the Engineering laboratories in public Universities in Mexico were lacking good equipment due to the increasing cost of laoratory instruments. This problem has a cost-effective alternative solution with the integration of a virtual LabVIEW laboratories containing instruments which provide an economic solution compared to the cost of traditional instruments.The mentioned applications are currently used at UNAM to perform laboratory experiments in the field of Electronics and Radio frequency at the School of Engineering, Fl. The learning process based on computer software is being adopted in an important way to improve the teaching -learning process. In the forthcoming years, the exposed model and the advances in Internet might be merged to support the development of educative digital systems to encourage long distance learning, as well as the operation of remote laboratories. The laboratory explained here is under construction at this moment, therefore the operation results are preliminary as well as the specifications ofthe system being implemented at UNAM.