Current Mission
The SelfieSat – Selfies From Space
The SelfieSat, our first project, started out as a simple satellite project; we wanted to make an operational satellite that is able to communicate while it is orbiting earth. However, we wanted to make things a bit more interesting. While SelfieSat is in orbit it will be able to display a selfie of any person on earth, which will be uploaded from our ground station at NTNU. A robotic arm with a camera attached will photograph the screen with the earth in its background. Finally this picture will be sent back to the selfie-taking individual!
Current Mission
The SelfieSat – Selfies From Space
The SelfieSat, our first project, started out as a simple satellite project; we wanted to make an operational satellite that is able to communicate while it is orbiting earth. However, we wanted to make things a bit more interesting. While SelfieSat is in orbit it will be able to display a selfie of any person on earth, which will be uploaded from our ground station at NTNU. A robotic arm with a camera attached will photograph the screen with the earth in its background. Finally this picture will be sent back to the selfie-taking individual!
01. Building
We are building a cubesat, a small satellite with standardized dimensions. This allows us to more easily procure components and services. Because of that we are buying several components, such as the solar panels and the structure. However components such as the main computer and the control computer are built by our team members. Building and testing is estimated to take one to two years.
02. Launch
Launching the satellite is no easy task, and the only thing we can say for sure is that we will not do it on our own. We are probably going to use a launch provider, possibly at Andøya or with SpaceX. If so, the Selfiesat will hitchhike its way to space before it is sent into its correct orbit. We are planning this to happen within 2 – 3 years.
03. Operations
When the satellite is in orbit we need to be able to communicate with it. We are building a ground station, a radio tower, at Gløshaugen, as well as cooperating with commercial services to do so. We will send and receive image data, status updates and positioning information at regular intervals.
