Surviving Orbit the DIY Way

Is your picosatellite ready for launch? Can it withstand rocket thrusts and the vacuum of space? This do-it-yourself guide helps you conduct a series of hands-on tests designed to check your satellite’s readiness. Learn precisely what the craft and its electronic components must endure if they’re to function properly in Low Earth Orbit.

The perfect follow-up to DIY Satellite Platforms (our primer for designing and building a picosatellite), this book also provides an overview of what space is like and how orbits work, enabling you to set up the launch and orbit support you’ll need.

• Go deep into the numbers that describe conditions your satellite will face
• Learn how to mitigate the risks of radiation in the ionosphere
• Pick up enough formal systems engineering to understand what the tests are all about
• Build a thermal vacuum chamber for mimicking environment of space
• Simulate the rocket launch by building and running a vibration shake test
• Use a homebuilt centrifuge to conduct high G-force tests
• Get guidelines on scheduling tests and choosing an appropriate lab or clean room

Alexander ＂Sandy＂ Antunes (born 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Maryland-area astronomer, author, and role playing game designer. He graduated from Boston University in 1989 with a dual major in astronomy and physics, received a Masters in astronomy from Penn State in 1992, and received his PhD in computational astrophysics from George Mason University in 2005. He was the Maryland Science Center ＂Science Person of the Month＂ for May 2007.