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Make Your Own Sputnik

Posted by CmdrTaco on Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:21 AM
from the because-you-can dept.
Space
An anonymous reader writes "What better way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sputnik than by making one of your own. The BBC says that you can build your own Sputnik satellite from stuff lying around the house. The BBC quotes an electronics hobbyist: "Technology now is way ahead of what was available in 1957, and making your own fully functional Sputnik would now be very simple indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if you could build one in a container smaller than a matchbox, weighing about as much as a wristwatch. The components, including a transmitter, battery and the sensors you'd need would probably cost less than 50 pounds [about 100 US dollars]. It really shouldn't be a problem to build and program the whole thing in under a day." Unfortunately, the BBC article doesn't go into technical details." And of course, actually getting it up into orbit might take a little more work.
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Submission: Make Your Own Sputnik by Anonymous Coward
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  • Oops... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Hanners1979 (959741) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:23AM (#21072613) Homepage
    I misread the word 'Sputnik' and sat here thinking "But I already do that every night"...

  • Choices (Score:5, Funny)

    by kevmatic (1133523) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:24AM (#21072629)
    So, do I make my own Helicopter or my own Sputnik? Hmm...

    I say Helicopter. Cooler and Deadlier.

  • No problem (Score:5, Funny)

    by djupedal (584558) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:24AM (#21072635)
    "And of course, actually getting it up into orbit might take a little more work. "

    I know a guy that makes home-made helos' that has the first 7 feet covered - after that...two words: space elevator.
    • The filk song "You can build a spaceship from the things you find at home" comes to mind.

      http://www.khaosworks.org/filk/spaceship.html [khaosworks.org]

      Now next on my agenda was to find a rocket drive
      Strong enough to launch the ship and still keep me alive
      I found the right propellant when I scouted out the bars
      Six kegs of Old Peculier that will shoot me to the shtars! *hic*

      (chorus) Lockheed, Bell and Boeing, MDC and Grumman too
                  Pratt and Whitney, BAE, they'll keep it all from you
                  They make big bucks off NASA so they never want it known
                  That you can build a spaceship from the things you find at home!

    • And in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first Sputniks, the BBC will post instructions for how you can build your own Sputnik 2 at home... including the dog.

  • How about going Old School? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fataugie (89032) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:25AM (#21072649) Homepage
    Wouldn't it be cooler to build it with authentic to the era parts and pieces? It would be like a scavenger hunt meets science class. Sadly, it's beyond me and my capabilites.

    I do have a line on a bunch of old vaccum tubes that have been in storage for years....
  • This reminds me of the heady days of Sputnik and Yuri Gegarin...

  • Didn't we find out... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kjella (173770) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:29AM (#21072695) Homepage
    ...back in the last Sputnik story that the entire idea of a real science probe was pretty much scrapped due to time pressure, and that they launched pretty much only a radio transmitter? Building that primitive beacon wasn't the impressive thing at all, putting it into orbit was.

    • Re:Didn't we find out... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by aadvancedGIR (959466) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:38AM (#21072833)
      A science probe? Didn't the only goal of that think was to say "See that blipping thing over your head? Next time, we could send a nuke anywhere on the planet"
    • You may want to update your sig to reflect the other DRM-free stores sprouting up (Amazon, Wal-Mart, Zune Marketplace soon) and Universal selling DRM-free music on Amazon as well. Not to mention places like eMusic and Magnatune

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Lumpy (12016)
      Exactly and changing the "beep" depending on temperature was not "programming" but how temperature worked on resistors to the timing circuit. Sputnik was 100% analog.

    • Sputnik actually HAD science instruments: it encoded pressure and temperature inside the capsule in radio pulses. This allowed to verify that there's no big danger of micrometeorits in space.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by John Meacham (1112)
        Actually, there was another important scientific discovery that sputnik allowed. It was designed to transmit on two different frequencies, 20MHz and 40MHz. Since different radio frequencies are affected differently by the ionosphere, it was possible to observe things about the ionosphere that wern't possible before such as its electron density.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by the bluebrain (443451)
      1) Accelerate to approx. 35 times the speed of sound
      2) Release (preferably in an upward direction)

      Sheesh. Jules Verne already knew that. ;)

  • Besides imagining a beowulf cluster of those... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jayminer (692836) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:30AM (#21072703) Homepage
    ...is there really any possibility to launch it to the orbit from my backyard?

    Can I do it with, say, $10,000 and without getting caught?

    • Sure there is... if you have a Scaled Composites workshop in your backyard and a place to store the volatile chemicals... mind you, range safety become an issue... you'll have to check your neighborhood association charter to make sure you aren't violating any rules, for things like towers, radio antennas, satellite dishes, etc.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Talk to the folks at the Civilian Space eXploration Team. They put an amateur rocket in space (not orbit, though) a few years back.

      See:
      http://the-rocketman.com/CSXT/default.asp [the-rocketman.com]
      http://www.ddeville.com/derek/CSXT.htm [ddeville.com]

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Klaus_1250 (987230)
      You might, given the fact that you only need to carry a "matchbox" into a low orbit. But it will still be a hell of a job and lots of trail and error. The bigger problem you will have is that you will have to do it without hitting anything (civilian jets, satellite's, etc), as it might set you back a few hundred million dollars if you manage to do so.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Robonaut (1134343)
      How many people would seriously want to do this, say launch something ~100cm^3 & 100 grams for ~10K? If 10 people/groups would sign up, not only would they get their stuff in space, but they could help out a university team doing some of the heavy lifting Comments? Suggestions? Reservations?
  • Perhaps they should be encouraging someone to create a powerful electro-magnet satellite sweeper to surf the orbital zone and "pick up" the junk that is whistling around out there, rather than encouraging Joe Average to add his own litter to the fray.

    DISCLAIMER:
    No, I have not thought this through.

    But, it would be interesting to see -something- done about the problem before the garbage makes extra-terrestrial travel even more dangerous than it already is...

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Dr. Eggman (932300)
      I have thought this through (kind of) and decided at the speeds the garbage is going, a magnet is either going to have very little effect or if it does collide, the garbage will blast the magnet to pieces and create even more junk.
      • See, I was thinking that the "sweeper" would be heading in the same direction as the trash... It would need to "catch up" to the crap.

        Perhaps it could change the orbit of each piece of crap - into a decaying orbit?

    • Re:Yay! More litter! (Score:5, Funny)

      by $RANDOMLUSER (804576) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:59AM (#21073077)

      DISCLAIMER:
      No, I have not thought this through.
      Have you considered a career in politics?
  • (rolls eyes)

    Anybody with a public school education can outclass Werner Von Braun or Sergei Korolev with chewing gum and duct tape!

    Please.

  • Getting into Orbit... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Decius6i5 (650884) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:35AM (#21072799) Homepage
    ...may be expensive but if you can fit the electronics inside of a ping pong ball you can at least get it close [jpaerospace.com] for free.

  • Pee Wee (Score:3, Funny)

    by Frosty Piss (770223) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:35AM (#21072801)

    You could even build one yourself, as Paul Rubens explains below.

    Looks like Pee Wee finally found a new gig, after that sex scandle and all...

  • Good luck getting the fan to do any "cooling" in space. And with today's instrumentation efficiency, there's probably not a whole lotta need to worry about cooling.. I'd be more worried about keeping things heated above -40 deg C to maintain operating temperature.
    • Yeah, the article implies that the original Sputnik had a fan as well. If the case was hermetically sealed then maybe this would work.

      There is also a balloon for pressure/leak sensing so looks like the intent is for the unit to be sealed.

      I would just use a hacked cell phone (cost much less than $100USD) that calls me once an hour or so to give me the temperature etc.

  • This is ridiculous (Score:3, Insightful)

    by philmack (796529) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:39AM (#21072853)
    The article is not remotely about building a sputnik, but it is about how technology in sputnik served similar purposes to things used in the home. Using a baby monitor as a transmitter? a domestic thermostat? a balloon? a mercury thermometer? "4x large batteries"? come on. This sounds like the losing science fair project of a seven year old.
    ~Phil

    • The article is not remotely about building a sputnik, but it is about how technology in sputnik served similar purposes to things used in the home. Using a baby monitor as a transmitter? a domestic thermostat? a balloon? a mercury thermometer? "4x large batteries"? come on. This sounds like the losing science fair project of a seven year old.

      Well, it beats a cup of dirt.

  • next article (Score:3, Funny)

    by JeanBaptiste (537955) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:50AM (#21072981)
    Make your own Internet! You will need 100 feet of twine, 4 dixie cups, and some duct tape.

  • Orbit (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Archangel Michael (180766) on Monday October 22 2007, @10:51AM (#21072989) Journal
    "And of course, actually getting it up into orbit might take a little more work. "

    Actually, it is probably a crime in most jurisdictions.

  • Now there's an image to ponder... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TaleSpinner (96034) on Monday October 22 2007, @11:20AM (#21073289)
    > And of course, actually getting it up into orbit might take a little more work.

    I'd be careful about saying that. While nerds may be in a minority everywhere they are found, in aggregate they are still a numerous and clever breed prone to accepting challenges like that. DJGPP came about because Stallman said it wasn't possible to run gcc under DOS. The thought of hundreds of thousands of sputniks in low earth orbit is scarey. :)

  • very nice! (Score:5, Funny)

    by trb (8509) on Monday October 22 2007, @11:27AM (#21073373)
    Home-made Sputnik, I Laika!

  • I want to do this... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Upaut (670171) on Monday October 22 2007, @11:28AM (#21073385) Homepage Journal
    And have it play "Orange Crush" by REM... It would drive the RIAA totally insane if there is a pirate signal from space they can't find to take down... Heck, some solar panels expanding from the altoids tin, and an ipod shuffle, it could really be an achievment...

  • Indeed... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Gibbs-Duhem (1058152) on Monday October 22 2007, @11:29AM (#21073399)

    Some MIT hackers did just that. It's beeping instead of transmitting, but ya know =)

    http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2007/sputnik/ [mit.edu]

  • sputnik? no. Launcher? hell yeah. (Score:3, Funny)

    by apodyopsis (1048476) on Monday October 22 2007, @12:08PM (#21073867)
    make your own DIY sputnik? Maybe.....

    but I'd rather make my own DIY "rocket that launched it". Now thats got all the ingredients that makes any self respecting geeks eyes light up!!

  • On getting it into space... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Isao (153092) on Monday October 22 2007, @12:12PM (#21073933)
    If you work with Amsat [amsat.org] you can have your work shot into orbit. There are about 18 currently in operation [amsat.org], with launches starting in the 60's [amsat.org]. Amsat is an international organization.

    • The very first non-government satellite was AMSAT's own OSCAR-1.

      The very first secondary payload was OSCAR-1. When other people thought they might be able to hitch a ride in to orbit the way AMSAT did, the Authorities suggested they look at how AMSAT did it.

      The free rides in to orbit aren't as plentiful as they once were, but are based on one of two things: either stuff little satellites in to areas of the launch vehicle where "real" satellites won't fit, or take advantage of launch vehicles having exce

  • Electronics vs. Radiation in space (Score:5, Informative)

    by Schraegstrichpunkt (931443) on Monday October 22 2007, @03:10PM (#21076449) Homepage

    The BBC quotes an electronics hobbyist: "Technology now is way ahead of what was available in 1957, and making your own fully functional Sputnik would now be very simple indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if you could build one in a container smaller than a matchbox, weighing about as much as a wristwatch. The components, including a transmitter, battery and the sensors you'd need would probably cost less than 50 pounds [about 100 US dollars]. It really shouldn't be a problem to build and program the whole thing in under a day."

    Oh, that old meme.

    Trivia: What is the probability that off-the-shelf microelectronics (like wireless routers) will work in space? Answer: Roughly zero.

    Why? Look at the information starting at page 23 on this document: Spacecraft Charging and Hazards to Electronics in Space [nyud.net]:

    3. Radiation Effects on Spacecraft Electronics

    The radiation sources discussed are hazardous to electronics since energetic particles can deposit energy inside microelectronic circuitry and disrupt their proper operation. Energy deposition in electronics is measured in rads(M) where M is a specific material being considered (1 rad = 100 ergs/gm). Energy deposition can be in the form of ionization or atomic displacements, which can permanently damage electronics, or it can be in the form of single events, which can cause transient or permanent damages depending on the severity of the event.

    NASA doesn't ship Xeon processors into space, not because of budget cuts, but because they don't work reliably (if at all) in space.

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