DIY Satellite Platforms

Book description

Can any hobbyist build a satellite? Our DIY guide steps you through designing and building a base picosatellite platform tough enough to withstand launch and survive in orbit. If you have basic maker skills, you can build a space-ready solar-powered computer-controlled assembly suitable for attaching instruments and rocketing into space.

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):
  • Release date: February 2012
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781449310608