By Sterling “Chip” Camden
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
What could be more geeky than putting your own personal satellite into Low-Earth-Orbit? OK, sending yourself into space would definitely pwn that – but who can afford to do it? Now, for only $8000 US (“but you have to call now, ‘cause we can’t do this all day”) you can launch your own personal space satellite, thanks to Interorbital Systems. Yeah, it’s a bit outside my budget, too – but it’s a whole lot closer than I would have thought.
The TubeSat Satellite Kit (PDF) comes with everything you need to put 0.2 kg (a little less than half a pound) of payload into polar orbit:
? Casing, Endplates, and Mounting Hardware
? A Transceiver
? A Battery Pack
? Solar Cells
? A Power Management Control System (PMCS)
? Microcomputer
? Software
? Antennas
? Safety Switches
? Complete Instructions
What could you do with such a satellite, you ask? The folks at Interorbital have some suggestions:
? Earth-from-space video imaging
? Earth magnetic field measurement
? Satellite orientation detection (horizon sensor, gyros, accelerometers, etc.)
? Amateur radio relay
? Orbital environment measurements (temperature, pressure, radiation, etc.)
? On-orbit hardware and software component testing (microprocessors, etc.)
? Tracking migratory animals from orbit
? Testing satellite stabilization methods
? Biological experimentation
? Automatic simple, repeating “message from orbit” transmission
? Private e-mail
I have to launch my own satellite to get private email? I think I’ll wait for Google Wave.
Biological experimentation? At less than half a pound payload, it would have to be something more minute than a lab-rat entry into the 100 Mile High Club. Of course, they do offer double, triple, or quadruple size TubeSats – so you could send almost two pounds of biomass up for a little space action if you’ve got the money and inclination. That’s just enough for your average pair of rats (not including food, water and oxygen source :-( — oh well).
While in orbit, you can communicate with the satellite via HAM radio frequencies, either rolling your own or using existing ground station networks. They’re also working on a web-based system for keeping up with your baby. Twitter? Facebook?
But nothing good can last. Within three months, the satellite’s orbit decays and your $8000+ investment will burn up in the atmosphere – to “prevent the build-up of orbital debris fields”. I don’t know about you, but that 90-day expiration date makes that $8000 look a lot more expensive to me.
[Via Space Fellowship]
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