Build Your Own Linux-Based Satellite

An anonymous reader writes "For $10 million, SpaceDev is offering a Linux-based microsatellite that can be controlled over the internet using any laptop or desktop computer. The Modular Microsat Bus utilizes such things as plug and play USB, Ethernet, and other standards, while providing critical features such as power, maneuvering, and communication for you. Up to 40 kg of project space are at your disposal"

Re:$10 million and 40kg? Why not $250k and 1kg?

[networkBoy]

I think that the picosats are cool, but there is not a ton that you can do in such a small package. A small transponder, some radiation experiments, no reasonable optics will fit in that tight a package, and even if they did you would need to accomodate stabilizing gear.
That said, they are great for universities, where the resulting knowledge gained is the goal and the useful science is almost gravy.

As to the /.ing, I think the sat would have no problem, due to the rather low speed of the anticipated link (no dish, just a whip antenna, so BW will bw lower). Whether the page will be viewable with a million geeks trying to share a 10kbps link, I dunno.
-nB

A neat idea...

[phorm]

But what would/could you do with it? I'd be very reluctant to upgrade the kernel or any such thing that would likely be required to install modules/drivers required to do something neat. Nothing would quite suck like having a 'kernel panic' on a $10,000,000 sitting up in orbit... not as if you can press reset to restart it.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:A neat idea...

[Maximum Prophet]

Satellites and other space hardware tends to have watchdog reset timers that will auto-reboot to a monitor ROM. That way if anything goes wrong during kernel upgrade, it'll reboot to a known good state.

What about legal?

[Terrasque]

What laws will this satelite be bound to?

Lets for example say someone put up a webserver and put some seriously illegal stuff on it (childporn? nasty comments about george bush?).. Who gets to shoot it down?

BPS

[Hina Matsuri]

I know a lot of people here *hate* anime and anyone who likes it, but...

Has anyone seen Battle Programmer Shirase? There was an episode where this super retardedly awesome programmer (Shirase, the main character) hacks three neglected satellites and crashes them in a line to target a boat. The first in line acted as a primary heat shield for the second two and evaporated pretty quick, the second did the same for the last, and the last plowed right into the boat in a big explosion.