Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by elkos on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:54PM
(#20567369)
If you are interested in open-source licenced Cubesat hardware, software and low earth orbit communications feel free to check out Libre Space Foundation
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by elkos on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @07:37PM
(#20579773)
We have a forum at https://community.libre.space most threads are about SatNOGS (our global satellite ground-station network) but there are several people from Cubesat teams that are hanging around there from time to time
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by iyn on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:15PM
(#20566309)
I highly recommend subscribing to The Orbital Index newsletter. One of the 3 newsletters that I actually read every week. It's (almost) completely outside my profession but very interesting to read nonetheless.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by blach on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @05:25PM
(#20569357)
One half of Orbital Index here… I highly recommend The Prepared as well. I happen to be guest editing it next month while the normal writer is on paternity leave, so I might be biased (but also a longtime happy reader :-).
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by kartikkumar on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @03:20PM
(#20568209)
@tectonic: thanks for including mention of our website/resources in this newsletter! Looking forward to meeting next week at SmallSat :)
If you're interested in understanding the state of the global space supply chain, check us out [1]. We're working on digitalizing the entire global marketplace and CubeSats are a huge part of the on-going commoditization within the sector. Kinda like "Octopart for space".
The supplier ecosystem is really a lot larger than people think (including myself until we started this project). There are some legacy and strategic reasons for "hidden hubs".
The supply chain is undergoing a lot of change, as organizations try to figure out how to not stay hidden and instead ride the on-going growth wave through international business/projects.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by fernandopj on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:24PM
(#20566388)
How effective is an internet connection from a CubeSat?
I'm curious, I've read about radio comm and this article mentions using the GlobalSat or Iridium network is possible, but would that (or any other option) be a "broadband bandwith" available to whatever software is running on the CubeSat?
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by tectonic on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:05PM
(#20566827)
For the radio & antenna you'll probably have on a small CubeSat, expect slow and unreliable, but it depends on if you're running your own ground station, in which case you may only be able to communicate for minutes a day or less, or are using a large ground station network or satellite constellation like Iridium, which will still be slow, but will offer much more frequent communication opportunities.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by Rebelgecko on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @03:32PM
(#20568311)
It's relatively easy (emphasis on relatively) to use a RF module similar to what you'd get for $20 on Sparkfun or Adafruit and get dial-up levels of performance without needing to invest in a crazy ground station. You'd be limited on when you can downlink. I would imagine that for higher bandwidth communications (like enough for realtime video) you'd need to worry about radio licensing.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by asdfman123 on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:06PM
(#20566832)
Now I want to build a CubeSat that will point a laser pointer at different population centers as it passes around the earth. E.g. this pass of North America you choose LA, then NYC, then Houston, then Chicago... so you can see it streak by in the sky.
My rough estimation is you could create a spot 2 miles across with a standard laser pointer at 400 miles high. Maybe you could use a different kind that would have a little more spread. And you'd have even more if you weren't beaming directly downwards -- maybe you could point it at 45 degrees or more with a powerful laser and get nice coverage.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by modeless on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:28PM
(#20567056)
You don't need a laser pointer. All you need to do is reflect sunlight. There was a recent attempt to deploy a cubesat that would become the brightest object in the night sky (besides the Moon), simply by deploying some white fabric. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your opinion (I lean toward the latter), it failed to fully deploy. http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-kanopus-v-ik/mayak-lighthous...
Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars. If you want to see them, heavens-above.org is a great place to find out when to look. https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=42830
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by massimo-nazaria on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @01:10PM
(#20576190)
> Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars. If you want to see them, heavens-above.org is a great place to find out when to look. https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=42830
Interesting link. Another interesting one is https://spotthestation.nasa.gov about the ISS, which is probably the most visible to the naked eye.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by snickmy on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:47PM
(#20567291)
For a while I thought you would need too much energy, then I realized I don't know well enough the physics of how a laser works.
[Warning, very stupid idea ahead]:
Since I don't know well enough the topic, why wouldn't be possible to use a satellite to collect solar energy (because outside the atmosphere you can collect ~40% more (edited) the solar energy due to lack of atmospheric filtering effect),and then transmit that energy back to earth via some sort of wireless energy distribution mechanism (laser?). I guess a YoYo satellite with real tens of KM of wire to earth has a lot of reasons for not be feasible.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by ohazi on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:55PM
(#20567371)
It's not 40x more, it's barely 40% more. [1]
> Average annual solar radiation arriving at the top of the Earth's atmosphere is roughly 1361 W/m^2. The Sun's rays are attenuated as they pass through the atmosphere, leaving maximum normal surface irradiance at approximately 1000 W /m^2 at sea level on a clear day.
There are practical challenges, but otherwise, yes, it should work.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by erklik on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @02:34AM
(#20572142)
I think its not that crazy an idea. The biggest issue ( based on my very limited knowledge reading online articles ), is that the transmission without a physical medium leaves a lot to be desired. Secondly, waste heat disposal is enough of a problem in space, but when your craft is designed to accept as much radiation as possible, it becomes even more so.
I do think that its certainly going to be one of the ways humanity powers themselves going into the future. As our power needs increase, we will inevitably look to more efficently use the power eminating from our star and one of the first steps in doing that is by harnessing it without the atmospheric effects.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by bluejellybean on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @08:18PM
(#20570570)
This is an awesome post and I love the external links given. I've been reading a lot of satellite engineering books and resources lately but they're unfortunately mainly geared for much larger missions. This article, and really most cubeSat info, is really useful for the amatures like myself.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by eggy on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @12:17AM
(#20571685)
I am almost finished working my way through the book "Building High Integrity Applications with SPARK"[1].
I dropped Rust and found SPARK easier to work with, and one of the book's authors is a professor at Vermont Technical College (VTC) in the CubeSat Laboratory[2] where Ada/SPARK are used.
The book is a great way to get exposed to a lot of subjects around high integrity, secure software. Highly recommended.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by erklik on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @02:36AM
(#20572149)
Honestly, I might start saving for a few years and actually do it. It sounds like a thing that would be awesome to do and more so, a good experience in general.
Would there be any restrictions for people not living in the USA?
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by zaarn on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @06:21AM
(#20573045)
The interesting challenge would be when the first cubesats launched by private persons reach the moon and send back a picture of earth rise.
From what I can tell, cubesats might be able to get ride-alongs on future launches towards the moon, so that is basically what this challenge would be hinging on.
You'd have to figure out long distance communication, a simple LoRa module won't cut it. Your power needs to handle 3 days of travel, possibly without power until the sat gets deployed and sees the sun for the first time.
You'd have to figure out how to orient and point a camera outside the stronger parts of the earth's magnetic field (commonly cubesats seem to rely on magnets to orient themselves).
Then you'd have to bring a camera with decent quality and that works in vacuum along, snap a picture or ten and finally send them back.
It would be awesome if I, as a private person, could organize and launch that.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by Rebelgecko on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @02:21PM
(#20567644)
Air launch to orbit has been explored a bit, although mostly by launching from aircraft to get more horizontal velocity— the hardest part of getting to orbit isn't getting high enough, it's going fast enough horizontally that you don't fall down to earth.
That's how the Pegasus rocket launches, as well as some rockets currently under development by companies like Virgin and Stratolaunch
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by oh_sigh on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @07:22PM
(#20570224)
interesting. For what I remember of reading this story many years ago is that he got on the badside of Saddam for not delivering what he promised to deliver. I'll have to reread the story.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by marshall_law on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @03:20PM
(#20568211)
10 years ago the cheapest launch options were in the $1-10M, and that's if you could even find a secondary / ride-along deployment. most satellite launches then would simply purchase a whole rocket, on order of $100s of M.
While this isn't consumer pricing yet, the orders of magnitude cost decrease because of lower cost / smaller satellites have made this much more accessible, and it's only going to continue as launch costs come down.
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by blach on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:45PM
(#20566617)
There are starting to be some lower cost options. A recent Kickstarter promised a ~$250 price point for a Femtosat/Sprite size craft launched as a rideshare inside a 3U Cubesat: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ambasat/ambasat-1-an-ed... (not speaking to the likelihood of it actually launching, just that it is purportedly an option)
Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat?
by echelon on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:16PM
(#20566321)
You're not the primary audience for this (yet).
This orders of magnitude cheaper than it used to be and will enable a broad wealth of new startups and applications in LEO. It's nothing short of a revolution.
https://libre.space
Feel also free to check our repositories at Gitlab. https://gitlab.com/librespacefoundation
Great to see the SatNOGS network going from strength to strength!
I also follow AMSAT-BB here to keep track of radio amateur activity in space https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
But if you attend the ARRL/TAPR DCC conference there will be a four hour workshop on SatNOGS for the Sunday Seminar. :)
https://theprepared.org/
2. James Clear's (https://jamesclear.com/newsletter), author of the Atomic Habits, which is a fantastic book about... habits (https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits)
Both are no-bullshit and consistently provide value.
https://wizardzines.com/saturday-comics/
https://orbitalindex.com/feed.xml
If you're interested in understanding the state of the global space supply chain, check us out [1]. We're working on digitalizing the entire global marketplace and CubeSats are a huge part of the on-going commoditization within the sector. Kinda like "Octopart for space".
The supplier ecosystem is really a lot larger than people think (including myself until we started this project). There are some legacy and strategic reasons for "hidden hubs".
The supply chain is undergoing a lot of change, as organizations try to figure out how to not stay hidden and instead ride the on-going growth wave through international business/projects.
[1] https://satsearch.co
I'm curious, I've read about radio comm and this article mentions using the GlobalSat or Iridium network is possible, but would that (or any other option) be a "broadband bandwith" available to whatever software is running on the CubeSat?
https://streamable.com/q9oa0
My rough estimation is you could create a spot 2 miles across with a standard laser pointer at 400 miles high. Maybe you could use a different kind that would have a little more spread. And you'd have even more if you weren't beaming directly downwards -- maybe you could point it at 45 degrees or more with a powerful laser and get nice coverage.
Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars. If you want to see them, heavens-above.org is a great place to find out when to look. https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=42830
And if you want to see an absolute cornucopia of satellites, grab a pair of binoculars, and look straight up, an hour or two after sunset.
You'll see faint little lights, crossing your field of vision, to and fro, on a very regular basis.
Interesting link. Another interesting one is https://spotthestation.nasa.gov about the ISS, which is probably the most visible to the naked eye.
Move over, high falutin' space types! I want a laser pointer pointing at my house every night!
[Warning, very stupid idea ahead]: Since I don't know well enough the topic, why wouldn't be possible to use a satellite to collect solar energy (because outside the atmosphere you can collect ~40% more (edited) the solar energy due to lack of atmospheric filtering effect),and then transmit that energy back to earth via some sort of wireless energy distribution mechanism (laser?). I guess a YoYo satellite with real tens of KM of wire to earth has a lot of reasons for not be feasible.
> Average annual solar radiation arriving at the top of the Earth's atmosphere is roughly 1361 W/m^2. The Sun's rays are attenuated as they pass through the atmosphere, leaving maximum normal surface irradiance at approximately 1000 W /m^2 at sea level on a clear day.
There are practical challenges, but otherwise, yes, it should work.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_irradiance#Irradiance_on...
Like so many things it's got a few unsolved technical difficulties thought that make it not-quite feasible.
I do think that its certainly going to be one of the ways humanity powers themselves going into the future. As our power needs increase, we will inevitably look to more efficently use the power eminating from our star and one of the first steps in doing that is by harnessing it without the atmospheric effects.
I dropped Rust and found SPARK easier to work with, and one of the book's authors is a professor at Vermont Technical College (VTC) in the CubeSat Laboratory[2] where Ada/SPARK are used.
The book is a great way to get exposed to a lot of subjects around high integrity, secure software. Highly recommended.
[1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/building-high-integrity...
[2] http://cubesatlab.org/
Would there be any restrictions for people not living in the USA?
From what I can tell, cubesats might be able to get ride-alongs on future launches towards the moon, so that is basically what this challenge would be hinging on.
You'd have to figure out long distance communication, a simple LoRa module won't cut it. Your power needs to handle 3 days of travel, possibly without power until the sat gets deployed and sees the sun for the first time.
You'd have to figure out how to orient and point a camera outside the stronger parts of the earth's magnetic field (commonly cubesats seem to rely on magnets to orient themselves).
Then you'd have to bring a camera with decent quality and that works in vacuum along, snap a picture or ten and finally send them back.
It would be awesome if I, as a private person, could organize and launch that.
The projectile has a rocket motor too.
Get the cannon as high as possible with a balloon.
At the limit, the cannon fires the projectile at high velocity. The rocket motor ignites giving the extra velocity.
Do you think it could reach escape velocity?
IANARS (I am not a rocket scientist)
That's how the Pegasus rocket launches, as well as some rockets currently under development by companies like Virgin and Stratolaunch
Most people underestimate the speed required to obtain a reasonable orbit, and the amount of tube required to accelerate an object to that speed.
You also might be interested in SpinLaunch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpinLaunch
While this isn't consumer pricing yet, the orders of magnitude cost decrease because of lower cost / smaller satellites have made this much more accessible, and it's only going to continue as launch costs come down.
"Why build a computer if it costs $10K+ for a special room?"- 1960's naysayers.
This orders of magnitude cheaper than it used to be and will enable a broad wealth of new startups and applications in LEO. It's nothing short of a revolution.
Not particularly, and even less so with this clichéd, condescending headline.
It's a meme that needs to die, why do we have to see these titles popping up in HN every month?