class=”text”> Sat Ardu A tiny satellite in orbit. (NanoSatisfi)
Universe is passionate but lacks the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost the future tickets for the space tourist, soon you can rent for $ 250 a week a small satellite with Spanish technology.
From 2014, this will be possible thanks to two tiny satellites equipped with an open-source processor and a dozen sensors including camera, gyroscope and spectrometer and gauges radiation and temperature.
“It’s a democratization of access to space,” said in Vienna on Austrian Peter Platzer, director of the company that launched the project, NanoSatisfi , based in Silicon Valley (USA).
affordable rental
class=”imp”> A university or college can rent the satellite for $ 250 to experiment for a week In principle, business purpose is the education community : a university or college can rent the satellite for $ 250 (185 euros) to experiment for a week and analyze data for a semester, through the company website.
But the original the project is that nothing prevents amateur astronomers, photographers or simple love of adventure rent satellite space to give vent to their curiosity.
Whether detect meteors, observed phenomena weather from space or build a 3D model of Earth’s magnetic field, the possibilities are enormous.
Low cost
low cost, the use of open source technology and some of the money comes from the Internet micromecenazgos are other innovative aspects for the space adventure.
The company aims to create a network of up to 200 of these small devices orbiting the Earth mirror and throw to space each of these two satellites called ArduSat – one measures 10 by 10 inches and the other 10 by 30 inches, costs much less than a million dollars.
And costs fall to be made in the future, when manufactured a large number of them at the same time, because the company aims to create a network of up to 200 of these small devices orbiting the Earth.
“This contrasts with the value of hundreds of millions of dollars from a conventional satellite, “says the entrepreneur.
The first two low-cost satellites into space next will November 20 from the International Space Station, the human project most expensive in history, with some 150,000 million dollars invested.
Although technology has changed in the last 50 years, any smartphone has more computing power than the entire Apollo mission carried the first man on the moon-in the space industry still promote “projects huge, expensive, and they need a long time of development,” he explains.
Multiple uses
also cofounder NanoSatisfi think your network minisatellites can have many other uses , such as guarding illegal arms trafficking or in some areas.
The 90% of world trade, according Platzer, is carried by sea, so that some companies may be interested follow their loads from space or calculate efficient routes to spend less energy fleet.
can also provide weather forecasts to the letter with great precision for a given site, which can be very useful, for example, to ski resorts.
The satellites are also equipped with a sensor to measure space radiation , which in the future may warn of upcoming solar storms, “one of those phenomena that people are not aware” warns.
Platzer argues that if reoccur today most solar magnetic storm on record, dated in 1859 and scientists christened Carrington , the losses would be in the tens of billions of dollars.
“Our network of satellites could help understand solar storms and develop an early warning system,” he says about a phenomenon that can damage electronic equipment, of which increasingly depends more.
Spanish Contribution
Precisely
responsible for developing the radiation measurement sensor has been the Spanish company Libelium.
David Gascon, co-founder and head of R & D of that company Zaragoza note that the project quickly attracted them by the use of free software and hardware, a field in which much experience treasure.
People can Satellite build at home, as we have done, we give the information so they can study how we’ve done The company adapted for space sensor radioactivity that developed after the nuclear accident Fukushima in 2011 and has become popular in Japan for its ease of use and low price, about 100 euro.
Gascón indicates that your company try to “democratize access to complex technologies,” a philosophy consistent with the draft minisatellites , with which they will continue to work.
Summarizing the advantages of open source technology, says “People can build the satellite at home, as we have done. And give the information so they can study how they have done.”
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