
Arduino-based ArduSat will run your code in space - evo_9
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/131396-arduino-based-ardusat-will-run-your-code-in-space
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hwillis
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.

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ohgodthecat3
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.

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pvarangot
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).

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

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peter_platzer
that's the idea...

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pvarangot
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...

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joelspark
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

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pvarangot
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.

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ghostfish
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.

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mtdev
Anyone else confused by the GPS sensor going into orbit?

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psycovic23
GPS can be used on board to do low earth orbit determination.

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lwat
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.

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joelspark
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

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

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joelspark
The current plan is to use one made by SSBV:
[http://cubesatshop.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&#...</a><p>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.<p>Cheers, Joel

