Antunes - Make: DIY Comms and Control for Amateur Space: Talking and Listening to Your Satellite

by Sandy Antunes

Copyright 2015 Sandy Antunes. All rights reserved.

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• June 2015: First Edition

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978-1-449-31066-0

[LSI]

The picosatellite field has exploded, going from less than 10 launched per year (back in 2009-2011, when I did my Calliope build) to over 100 launches this year alone. We have gone from requiring a large university or lab to back a project, to a point where even a motivated high school can build one. We are in a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) space age, and Im proud (maybe even a bit smug) that Calliope has been part of that. In fact, Im building version 2 of my hardware, using advances designed by others who were, in part, inspired by my Project Calliope!

While waiting for launch, Ive written these four short DIY satellite books for Make:, each of which has sold several thousand copies. I get emails from DIY builders of CubeSats and TubeSats and PocketQubes asking my advice. These emails often start off with I was inspired by your project and have a technical question about, followed by a technical question of such complexity that its clear they are already pushing the picosatellite frontier way past what I did with my little basement-build. There are CubeSats flying this year that include my work as an inspiration.

I was hired by Capitol Technology University to teach college students about satellites and systems engineering and physics. They hired me, to a large degree, because attempting Calliope impressed them. I am full-time faculty, starting my fifth year there, and just got promoted to Associate Professor. Because I havent launched yet, and Im helping college students work towards their own satellites, I donated the bulk of my ground station hardware to the not-for-profit Capitol lab I run. This donated hardware is jumpstarting students engagement in topics like ham radio and payload commanding and stuff. My focus is on what I can do for the next generation of space enthusiasts. In addition, Ive become an advocate for the so-called STEAM movement, that adds an A for Art into the usual STEM curricula.

Life is not a race because the only finishing line is the future, and that is unknown. So why not be the people that create that future? Read, think, build, interact, then repeat. As long as you are moving forward, you are going somewhere.