ArduSat 1 & X are currently awaiting deployment from the International
Space Station (ISS)! This means that the ability to design and run your own
applications on a satellite is closer than ever. Starting in January 2014,
students all over the world will be able to design and run experiments and
applications directly in space aboard the ArduSat platform.
“We’re making space
exploration affordable and accessible to everyone, with a space platform that
lets the users innovate. The spirit of discovery and sharing that inspires open
source development fits perfectly with this aim and makes it come to life,”
said Peter Platzer, NanoSatisfi CEO.
For students and enthusiasts excited to get started from Day 1, the team at NanoSatisfi has developed a series of pre-built experiments that can be run without any time lost developing or testing. Those pre-built experiments include:
More information regarding
ArduSat and running your own experiments can be found at https://ardusat.org/. Access is currently limited to a select few early backers,
though stay tuned, as your space control center will soon be ready and
accessible!
Lead
Payload Developer - Aerospace engineer. Ex-NASA and Von
Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics. Certified maker
and avid Arduino hacker.
Lead
Engineer, Satellite Bus - Aerospace engineer. Ex-EADS and
Mechtronix. Specialties in vehicle design and all
things mechanical.
HQ:
San Francisco,
CA - Founded
Date: 2012
Alternatively, you can take advantage of any of the pre-built experiments which will be available Fall ‘13, and accessible online. Those include:
Test for orbital mechanics & dynamics using the Accelerometer + Gyroscope
Build a 3D model of Earth's magnetic field using the Magnetometer
Measure temperature changes in space (ie cold snap) using the IR Temperature Sensor
Detect high-energy radiation levels using the Geiger counter
Build a spectrograph of Earth's Albedo using the Spectrometer
Take a picture from space
What sensors are onboard ArduSat?
[Magnetometer] Freescale's MAG3110, small and low powered this digital 3-axis magnetometer will allow the satellite to measure the earth's magnetic field. We put together some introductory informational videos for you at these are the MAG3110 series of videos. The data sheet is available here: http://dlnmh9ip6v2uc.cloudfront.net/datasheets/Sensors/M agneto/MAG3110.pdf
[Gyroscope] InvenSense's ITG-3200, this compact 3-axis
digital gyro will sense the satellites movements. It is a robust instrument
that is also small and sensitive. The datasheet is available here: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/Gyro/PS-ITG-
3200-00-01.4.pdf.
[Accelerometer] Analog Devices's ADXL345 is a small, low
power 3-axis accelerometer. Highly sensitive the accelerometer will be used to
track the acceleration of the satellite. The full details about the sensor can be found here: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/Accelerometer/AD
XL345.pdf.
[Infrared Temperature Sensor] Melexis's MLX90614 infrared
temperature sensor which has a wide sensing range. The sensors can be used to
measure the emissivity of the earth for more information on potential uses of
the sensor please see the incormational video series MLX90614 on
NanoSat_University. The full
details about the sensor can be found here: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/Temperature/SEN-09570-datasheet-3901090614M005.pdf.
[Temperature Sensor] Texas Instrument's TMP102 is a low
power digital temperature sensor. Several of these will be used to track the
internal and external temperature of the satellite. The full details about the sensor can be found
here: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/Temperature/tmp
102.pdf.
[Geiger
Counter] Libelium Geiger counter will be used to monitor the radiation
environment of the satellite. With a large range these small sensors will
provide valuable data. For their specifications please see the manufacturers information sheet here: http://www.lndinc.com/products/pdf/306/
. Additionally, we will publish more
videos on how to use this sensor soon, especially as we upgraded your
sensor-suite to include two(!) geiger-tubes in
orthogonal configuration for more interesting experiments.
[Luminosity Sensor] Texas Instruments TSL2561 luminosity sensor covers both infrared and visible light. These sensors will be placed beside the camera and the spectrometer to help you use those powerful and more complex sensors. For the full sensor details please see the data sheet here: http://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/TSL2561.pdf
[Spectrometer] MySpectral's Spectruino is our optical
spectrometer specifically designed to work with Arduino. The details of the sensor are available at
MySpectral's website http://myspectral.com/
and we will provide instructional videos around how to best use this
sensor soon.
[Camera] C439 Serial JPEG Camera.