Crowdfunded Satellite

[Barzon]

Just a thought.

If even just 10,000 forum users donated 5USD, as a community, we could purchase an Electron rocket launch, and have $10,000 left to build a cubesat or two, and launch it, making Kerbal Space Program a real thing. 

[MaverickSawyer]

1 hour ago, Barzon Kerman said:

Just a thought.

If even just 10,000 forum users donated 5USD, as a community, we could purchase an Electron rocket launch, and have $10,000 left to build a cubesat or two, and launch it, making Kerbal Space Program a real thing. 

We'd be about 3-4 times short of the typical cost of a cubesat. They're cheap by spacecraft standards, sure, but they're still a bit pricey.

[Barzon]

What exactly causes them to be so expensive?

Edited March 27, 2019 by Barzon Kerman

[ThatGuyWithALongUsername]

1 minute ago, Barzon Kerman said:

What exactly causes them to be so expensive?

I'd guess clean rooms, high-strength components, etc. They're small, but they're still aerospace-grade.

[Barzon]

Could the theoretical satellite be built with OTS components, and we wouldn't have to do it in a clean room? Since, y'know, the most advanced spacecraft in history is currently being built in a Texan field. And even if it only worked for a few hours, I think that would be considered a success, because it would be the first completely crowdfunded spacecraft in orbit, I think.

using things such as arduinos, could one be built for about $200?

[MaverickSawyer]

24 minutes ago, Barzon Kerman said:

Could the theoretical satellite be built with OTS components, and we wouldn't have to do it in a clean room? Since, y'know, the most advanced spacecraft in history is currently being built in a Texan field. And even if it only worked for a few hours, I think that would be considered a success, because it would be the first completely crowdfunded spacecraft in orbit, I think.

using things such as arduinos, could one be built for about $200?

Nope. It still has to meet specifications laid out in order to hitch a ride. That's where the cost comes in: Paperwork.

[Barzon]

Ah. Oh well. 'Twas an interesting thought experiment.

[mikegarrison]

Reminds me of the Steven Gould novel Exo, which is a fun read.

[Nightside]

Orbital KSP multiplayer server.

 

[Xd the great]

5 hours ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Nope. It still has to meet specifications laid out in order to hitch a ride. That's where the cost comes in: Paperwork.

Can armchair astronauts do the paperwork?

[MaverickSawyer]

38 minutes ago, Xd the great said:

Can armchair astronauts do the paperwork?

It's possible, but I have no personal experience with what's involved. You could certainly contact one of the companies that specialize in ride-share services and ask, but I'm not sure if they'd be willing (or even allowed) to give any details. Your best bet may be contacting one of the universities that have run cubesat programs.

[James Kerman]

I don't know about the paperwork, @Xd the great, but searching for cubesat supplies/components etc. might give an armchair astronaut an idea about cost and design considerations.

[Shpaget]

Of the shelf frame, battery, solar panels, attitude and coms systems alone will run you into tens of thousands of $.

And what do you do for the science pack? With a shoestring budget, anything that has been done is not worth doing again, and those things that haven't been done before will require custom hardware, and even if the "crowd" can build it themselves, it's not going to be cheap. Does the budget allow for any compensation to the people actually building it and spending thousands of hours on it? There aren't many individuals who can afford to stop going to work so they can dedicate their time to a project like this, even if being paid for it, let alone if it's a "for fame and exposure" type of deal.

[Xd the great]

36 minutes ago, Shpaget said:

And what do you do for the science pack? With a shoestring budget, anything that has been done is not worth doing again, and those things that haven't been done before will require custom hardware, and even if the "crowd" can build it themselves, it's not going to be cheap. Does the budget allow for any compensation to the people actually building it and spending thousands of hours on it? There aren't many individuals who can afford to stop going to work so they can dedicate their time to a project like this, even if being paid for it, let alone if it's a "for fame and exposure" type of deal.

Radiation resistent programming... On phones and other high-speed processors.

Maybe the forum can start one crowdfunding campaign...

[Green Baron]

Amateur radio has shot up cubesats. So maybe, for the eager, start with an amateur radio license ?

 

[kerbiloid]

A "SnowSphere" experiment.

A snowsphere-sized sphere covered with handmade ablator.
Two apples inside: iPhone and fruit. 

IPhone is the command unit, it can compute the orbit, manage the equipment, make fine-res photos of the Earth and space, and selfies.

Let its stay in orbit for, say, two weeks.
A life will appear on the fruit apple. Mildew and fruit flies. 

Then we deorbit the sphere, it splashes in something like water.

Scientific and commercial significance:
1) Apple decay in zero-g. Influence of cosmic rays.
2) Mildew growth in zero-g.
3) Fruit flies growth in zero-g.
4) Pressing of the cosmic radiation on the mildew genome.
5) Pressing of the cosmic radiation on the fruit fly genome.
6) Testing of the mass-produced electronic components in zero-G, under the cosmic rayts and the aerobraking acceleration.
7) Astronomical photos.
8) Geo(graphical? physical?) photos.
9) Product placement of iPhone which may partially reimburse the launch cost.
10) The same with color and ablator.
11) Toy snowspheres with an apple inside, to grow mildew and fruit flies right at your home. Franchise, so on. Certified expendables (apples) to keep your space species alive.
The apple in inseminated with the space mildew and flies, we guarantee this.

Edited March 28, 2019 by kerbiloid

[magnemoe]

10 hours ago, MaverickSawyer said:

Nope. It still has to meet specifications laid out in order to hitch a ride. That's where the cost comes in: Paperwork.

This, its why parts for planes are so expensive. Say an bolt who might just be an off the shelf high strength and quality bolt, but its an certificated bolt.

[YNM]

AFAIK we (the forum community) have had ideas like this before... ?

[magnemoe]

Why are clean rooms typically used to build satellites? Get it regarding optic but for an communication satellite it looks like overkill. 
Why not simply cover star trackers and solar panels until you integrate it? 

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

18 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

Why are clean rooms typically used to build satellites?

Because this is the only clean room in the whole building, and they use it to assemble the sats.

 

[YNM]

5 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Why are clean rooms typically used to build satellites?

Can't repair it once it's in orbit. Especially if one clog of dust can make it practically turn tail and get loose. So better safe than sorry.

[MaverickSawyer]

Yep. a single fragment of conductive material can brick a satellite in a heartbeat if it gets into the right part of the avionics. Cubesats aren't quite so sensitive to such things, but cleanliness is still beneficial to their operational lifespan.

On the subject of lifespan... most off-the-shelf electronics will not handle the rigors of low earth orbit well. Between temperature swings, vacuum, radiation, and the inability for you to physically reboot it when it locks up or crashes, you have to use some robust and reliable parts. Especially if it passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly... that thing eats COTS stuff.

[GearsNSuch]

 Could a rocket launched by a bunch of KSPers do anything but explode on ascent?

Also, I don't think the Electron folks would want to do business with a "Mr. Jebediah Kerman."

[DAL59]

On 3/27/2019 at 6:13 PM, Barzon Kerman said:

Just a thought.

If even just 10,000 forum users donated 5USD, as a community, we could purchase an Electron rocket launch, and have $10,000 left to build a cubesat or two, and launch it, making Kerbal Space Program a real thing. 

It says that there are 200,000 forum members, but the vast majority are bots, 1 time posters, or inactive.  I estimate there are only 5,000 active users, given I see the same people on every thread.

[Canopus]

On 3/28/2019 at 12:30 AM, Barzon Kerman said:

Could the theoretical satellite be built with OTS components, and we wouldn't have to do it in a clean room? Since, y'know, the most advanced spacecraft in history is currently being built in a Texan field. 

The „most Advanced Spacecraft in history“ is a demonstrator crudely made from sheet metals, designed for a few Minutes of operation at a time, it doesn’t compare at all to a delicate satellite full of finely tuned instruments, that has to work for years in a hostile environment. 

Still for the purposes of what would essentialy be a KSP promotional stunt that last a few hours i guess you wouldn‘t need to be that carefull. The question is how many people you could even reach like that, who aren‘t allready into spaceflight or KSP.