DIY Satellite Platforms

DIY Satellite Platforms

by Sandy Antunes
Released January 2012
Publisher(s): Make: Community
ISBN: 9781449329082

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Book description

Want to build your own satellite and launch it into space? It’s easier than you may think. The first in a series of four books, this do-it-yourself guide shows you the essential steps needed to design a base picosatellite platform—complete with a solar-powered computer-controlled assembly—tough enough to withstand a rocket launch and survive in orbit for three months.

Whether you want to conduct scientific experiments, run engineering tests, or present an orbital art project, you’ll select basic components such as an antenna, radio transmitter, solar cells, battery, power bus, processor, sensors, and an extremely small picosatellite chassis. This entertaining series takes you through the entire process—from planning to launch.

  • Prototype and fabricate printed circuit boards to handle your payload
  • Choose a prefab satellite kit, complete with solar cells, power system, and on-board computer
  • Calculate your power budget—how much you need vs. what the solar cells collect
  • Select between the Arduino or BasicX-24 onboard processors, and determine how to use the radio transmitter and sensors
  • Learn your launch options, including the providers and cost required
  • Use milestones to keep your project schedule in motion

Table of contents

  1. DIY Satellite Platforms
    1. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
    2. Preface
      1. Conventions Used in This Book
      2. Using Code Examples
      3. Safari® Books Online
      4. How to Contact Us
    3. 1. Overview
      1. What Is a Picosatellite?
      2. Where Is Orbit?
      3. Pico-Goals
        1. Science!
        2. Engineering!
        3. Art Concept!
        4. The Art of Building
      4. LEO Conditions and Viability
      5. LEO Temperatures
        1. LEO Light
        2. LEO Magnetic Field
      6. How I Got Started
      7. Budgets
    4. 2. PCB Fab, Soldering, and Electronics
      1. Gerber Files
      2. Breadboarding and Prototyping
      3. Fabricating PCBs
        1. My Criteria for a Good PCB Vendor
      4. Quality Control
      5. Soldering
      6. Parts Is Parts
      7. Parts Suppliers
        1. Rad Hard
    5. 3. Chassis, Structure, and Gross Anatomy
      1. Parts Is Parts
        1. What the Wizard Gave Us
        2. The Electric Company
        3. The Outer Limits
      2. CubeSats and TubeSats
        1. Materials
      3. Shielding
      4. Payload Bays
      5. Flight Spares
    6. 4. Power
      1. Power In
        1. Steady State Operations
        2. Burst Mode
      2. Power Architecture
      3. Power Charging Efficiency
      4. Power Out
      5. Power Charging Curves
    7. 5. Programming and Coding
      1. Core Processor
      2. Sensor Programming
      3. Packet Data
      4. Radio Transmission Programming
      5. More on Hardware
    8. 6. Launching and Rockets
      1. Blowups Happen
      2. Form Factor
      3. InterOrbital Systems
    9. 7. Milestones and Planning
      1. Checklists
      2. Research and Design (2 months)
      3. Setup (1 month)
      4. Core Work (5 months)
      5. Integration and Testing (2 months or more)
      6. Team Work
      7. Final Step
      8. Sample Case: Project Calliope TubeSat-style Picosatellite
        1. Assembly Work
        2. Integration Work
        3. Certification Work
        4. Photo Work
        5. Day Job
        6. Goal
    10. About the Author
    11. Colophon
    12. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

Product information

  • Title: DIY Satellite Platforms
  • Author(s): Sandy Antunes
  • Release date: January 2012
  • Publisher(s): Make: Community
  • ISBN: 9781449329082