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Archive for the ‘satellites’ Category

We recently invited José Antonio Bagur to join us on EDUvision, to talk about his work on Quetzal-1; Guatemala’s first satellite. It was a hugely popular show with the Arduino and edutech communities, and we ran out of time before we could ask José all your space-based questions!

The range of questions you guys had around open-source, custom-built satellites were too good to go unanswered. So we brought him back for an EDUvision EXTRA. Melissa and Roxana teamed up to dig deeper into his amazing project.

Arduino EDUvision EXTRA about satellites and Quetzal-1

José Antonio Bagur, and Quetzal-1

You can check out José’s first interview, which took place during the EDUvision livestream. But to quickly get you up to speed, let’s give José, and his pride and joy Quetzal-1, a quick introduction.

He’s a mechatronics engineer, university researcher and professor from Guatemala. He’s no stranger to the Arduino community either, as he regularly joins the Arduino team to host the Spanish-language Explore IoT webinars.

There are no formal aerospace science education programs in Guatemala, so José and his colleagues really had their work cut out designing and building the country’s first satellite! Over 100 people were involved in its development, which, of course, made plenty of use of Arduino.

In the EDUvision EXTRA video interview below, you can find out all about the incredible work they achieved. He talks about how they managed to get it into space, how it works, and what kind of challenges they faced throughout the project. Feel free to add any other questions you might have in the comments, over on the forum, or on social media.

Oh, and you’ll also find out where the name Quetzal-1 comes from!

Enjoy this extra slice of EDUvision goodness, and remember to join us on 20th May, 2021, for the next livestream. If you have a project you’d like to see featured live on EDUvision, let us know all about it. If it’s picked to be showcased, we’ll even send you some free Arduino swag.

See you then!

The post EDUvision EXTRA: Quetzal-1 Strikes Back appeared first on Arduino Blog.

We live in a connected world, but that world ends not far beyond the outermost cell phone tower. [John Grant] wants to be connected everywhere, even in regions where no mobile network is available, so he is building a solar powered, handheld satellite messenger: The MyComm – his entry for the Hackaday Prize.

The MyComm is a handheld touch-screen device, much like a smartphone, that connects to the Iridium satellite network to send and receive text messages. At the heart of his build, [John] uses a RockBLOCK Mk2 Iridium SatComm Module hooked up to a Teensy 3.1. The firmware is built upon a FreeRTOS port for proper task management. [John] crafted an intuitive GUI that includes an on-screen keyboard to write, send and receive messages. A micro SD card stores all messages and contact list entries. Eventually, the system will be equipped with a solar cell, charging regulator and LiPo battery for worldwide, unconditional connectivity.

2016 will be an interesting year for the Iridium network since the first satellites for the improved (and backward-compatible) “Iridium NEXT” network are expected to launch soon. At times the 66 Iridium satellites currently covering the entire globe were considered a $5B heap of space junk due to deficiencies in reliability and security. Yet, it’s still there, with maker-friendly modems being available at $250 and pay-per-use rates of about 7 ct/kB (free downstream for SDR-Hackers). Enjoy the video of [John] explaining the MyComm user interface:

The HackadayPrize2016 is Sponsored by:

Filed under: Arduino Hacks, Cellphone Hacks, The Hackaday Prize
Aug
12

ArduSat successfully launched in space – Watch video!

arduino, diy, satellites, science, space Comments Off on ArduSat successfully launched in space – Watch video! 

ardusat launch

ArduSat was successfully launched in space last Sunday 4th August and it’s now on its way to the International Space Station (ISS):

Ardusat is the first open satellite platform allowing general public to design and run their own applications, games and experiments in space, and also steer the onboard cameras to take pictures on-demand:

Ardusat offers the chance for everyday people to control a satellite for different purposes such as exploration, entertainment and experiments. It takes advantage of the existing technologies and platforms so that more and more people can participate in the space technology. With more and more people participating, the space industry is likely to go on through countless innovations.

Learn more from DIY Space Explorations.



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