Arduino-based ArduSat will run your code in space | Hacker News Reader

Arduino-based ArduSat will run your code in space

extremetech.com

26 pointsevo_917 comments

I worked on a similar satellite, the nanosat-5 (1m3 size), which also used magnetotorque for orientation. Odd choice using arduino, I guess for buzzwords? Also it looks like they are using very little shielding. We used several layers of shielding and a very thick hull- close to a centimeter, and each module in the device had a separate hull. We also had a lot more sensors, including some pretty complex equipment (an electron spectrmeter, an auroral imager, a plasma probe...).

I really hope that commercializing space doesn't kill off the ridealong programs- I think there is a ton of potential in crowdsourcing this sort of thing.

They said they chose arduino because it was easy for people to learn and get into which is true. I'm sure they will being doing work to make the arduino (environment) space ready, hopefully they are able to do enough testing on the ground for it to work reasonably in space.

$30,000 though seems a bit cheap for this project and I'm guessing that they already have facilities they can use or have sponsors that are helping them out, otherwise it might just go up into space and just not work.

Its cheap indeed. At u$d 35.000 they must already have access to some serious facilities in order to really develop this (i.e. at least a Helmholtz coil and a relatively clean room).

Very interesting. Makes me imagine being able to spin up a space instance via something like AWS and utilize standardized hardware devices, etc.

that's the idea...

Anyone has data about their link budget and ground station requirements? I can't find any information about that and it looks like a critical part of the project, at least if they want to download 60+ images to give to their $25 backers, and send semi real time images from any point in their orbit...

The images from anywhere in orbit won't be in real-time - users will pick a spot in the upcoming orbit where they want the picture to be taken (and frame it using a 3D model with a simulated image of what you'll be able to see in that place in orbit), and if they see something they like, they add that image to the capture queue. Once the satellite gets there, it will snap the picture and download it next time it gets in range of a ground station.

If you'd like, maybe I can put the link budget calculations on the Kickstarter?

Cheers, Joel

From the Kickstarter page I understood you where going to give a mostly real-time video feed. If you do have a link budget it would be nice to see it.

I'm working myself on a similar project, but commercially. You can contact me on my e-mail in my HN-profile.

To be clear here, they're not actually sending Arduinos into space, which would be silly. They're putting several of the same microcontroller used in Arduino on a custom PCB. The idea being that the Arduino environment is very beginner friendly.

Anyone else confused by the GPS sensor going into orbit?

GPS can be used on board to do low earth orbit determination.

The commercial GPS sensor is more for testing on the receiver properties, it won't give location data. Location data will come from a space-rated GPS we have in the bus.

As long as you're below the GPS constellation (at around 26000 km: http://www.navipedia.net/index.php/GPS_Space_Segment), and you use a GPS that doesn't have the altitude restriction, you can use it for orbit location determination.

Cheers, Joel

Why bother running your code in space like this? All you get is access to the data generated by the on-board sensors, you don't get to control anything on the sat. They'd be better off just streaming the data to earth and giving people access to it here.

Furthermore, as far as I can tell none of the sensors they plan on using is rated for use in space, for example commercial GPS units stop working when they reach around 1000 km/h (to stop them being used in missiles)

Finally their supposed launch date is 2013, and I really don't see how they can make such a tight deadline when they're not even done designing the thing.

Don't waste your money on this kickstarter.

Your post sums up my fillings _unfortunately_. It's a beautiful dream and I'm glad to see people are willing to back such a project given the high chance of no return.

The reason we wanted to have the code itself in space is because there ARE things people can control on the sat (supervised by us): you can control the cameras, command the attitude control, and activate the antenna. We also thought it would be more rewarding for students who want to use the satellite to gain real experience in coding on real hardware.

The you're right about the commercial GPS, it wont return location data above a certain altitude. We want to use the commercial GPS for other experiments (it will still have some functions that work). We've also included a second space-rated GPS in the bus itself for the location data.

To help us bring down the integration/testing time, we've teamed up with the manufacturer of the components of the satellite, they will be using their facilities and engineers to make sure we deliver by 2013 launch date.

Let me know if there is anything I can address about the design!

Cheers, Joel

What space grade GPS did you buy? All the ones I'm aware of exceed your Kickstarter budget or are US-export-restricted.

The current plan is to use one made by SSBV: http://cubesatshop.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&#...

Our engineering partner, GOMSpace, is also almost finished developing their own CubeSat GPS, and have expressed interest in flying that on the satellite, so we may switch over to that one.

Cheers, Joel

Reply on news.ycombinator.com