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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

photo of sandy juggling cubesats

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, March 16, 2015 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Alex "Sandy" Antunes

"CubeSats: Innovation & Risk in the (tiny) New Space Frontier"

ABSTRACT -- As tiny 1-liter CubeSats go from a handful to hundreds launched or proposed each year, we look at why it's both very easy and very hard to launch your own personal satellite mission. Popular among amateurs, early adopters, and career engineers alike, they have moved the space technology question from "who can build satellites" to the more evolved "what will you fly?"- and how will you manage it. As tech demos, science missions, and- in some views- tiny little space hazards-- these satellites are using off-the-shelf parts under a 16-year old specification for projects that are whimsical, potent, and occasionally disruptive. Astronautical Engineering professor and amateur satellite builder Sandy Antunes discusses the current state of the art for CubeSat technology as well as lessons learned both in his own solo basement satellite build and in work with the current generation of student maker-engineers. We cover the tech and skills needed, the risks often ignored, the reasons so many fail, and how we must balance the promise of the new space frontier against the risks in amateur access to space.

SPEAKER -- Dr. Alex "Sandy" Antunes is a professor of astronautical engineering at Capitol Technology University (formerly Capitol College) as well as a solo satellite builder with Project Calliope. Having once declared 'any idiot can build a satellite', Sandy set out to be that idiot, and has since written four books for O'Reilly/Maker Media for the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Space movement- DIY Satellite Platforms, Surviving Orbit the DIY Way, DIY Instruments for Amateur Space, and the upcoming DIY Comm and Control for Amateur Space. Prior work includes astrophysics and mission work at GSFC, solar physics at NRL, and freelance science writing. In addition to teaching, he currently mentors Capitol students on their recently awarded "CACTUS-I" CubeSat space launch initiative.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov