Hi, we just launched our open source satellite project on KickStarter - http:\www.ardusat.org
It is an ambitious project where we provide 5-10 arduinos with 25+ sensors connected via I2C on a satellite for anyone to write their own space based application or experiment, upload it to the satellite and run it in space. Users can also steer the 3 on-board cameras and take their own pictures from Earth, the Moon and Planets or star constellations.
I was wondering if someone here has done a similarly ambitious project (many Arduino's, many sensors, I2C, remote access) and would be willing to share his or her advice.
Sounds interesting, but afaik it has not done before and IIRC the specs of the Arduino do not really match the environment of space - temperature / radiation / humidity/etc
There are experiments don with arduinos and weather balloons. I dont have a link but I assume google will find them quite fast for you.
OK weather ballons are not space but you probably can learn a thing or two from those experiments.
Not seeing anything at http:\www.ardusat.org yet. Is that the right link?
For what it's worth, computer hardware flown in space is specially radiation hardened and redundant. The radiation environment in space is different than that at the surface of earth, i.e. there is a significant one. Some information:
Radiation hardening is a method of designing and testing electronic components and systems to make them resistant to damage or malfunctions caused by ionizing radiation (particle radiation and high-energy electromagnetic radiation),[1] such as would be encountered in outer space, high-altitude flight, around nuclear reactors, particle accelerators, during nuclear accidents or nuclear warfare.
Most radiation-hardened chips are based on their commercial equivalents, with some manufacturing and design variations that reduce the susceptibility to radiation damage. Due to the extensive development and testing required to produce a radiation-tolerant design of a microelectronic chip, radiation-hardened chips tend to lag behind the cutting-edge of developments.
I am not sure anyone would fly non-radiation hardened computers. Also, I don't think any of the off-the-shelf commercial sensors would be all that useful for scientific experiments, but who knows.
For what it's worth, computer hardware flown in space is specially radiation hardened and redundant.
True for commercial grade spacecraft with long planned missions, but not true for a lot of hobbyist and academic projects; there are even craft in production based on smartphones.
Mission-critical functions like manoeuvring and orientation are controlled by dedicated rad-hard circuits, but day-to-day sensor handling can be performed by much cheaper hardware.
I think Surrey University had craft based on commercial grade transputers ( from my recollection, there weren't any other grades!) in the early 90s
Is it possible to have a version of ArduSat as a means for two-way communication ?
I found a number of projects that do satellite tracking. I didn't understand how could one just 'connect' to a satellite and communicate two-way without any fee involved. Perhaps, the fee part was implicit but, then, I got curious. Can I have "my own" satellite and the satellite tracking code ?
Yes, I am a satellite n00b, so, please do feel free to throw manuals at me.
cogitoergosum:
Is it possible to have a version of ArduSat as a means for two-way communication ?
I found a number of projects that do satellite tracking. I didn't understand how could one just 'connect' to a satellite and communicate two-way without any fee involved. Perhaps, the fee part was implicit but, then, I got curious. Can I have "my own" satellite and the satellite tracking code ?
Yes, I am a satellite n00b, so, please do feel free to throw manuals at me.
Ham radio operators have been using satellites as repeaters for many decades also without fee.