195: A Bunch of Sputniks

Embedded.fm · 12 Apr 2017 · 1h 04m

What this episode covers

Jordi Puig-Suari, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly SLO and co-founder of Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, explains the origin and evolution of the CubeSat standard. He details how student projects at Cal Poly and Stanford bypassed traditional aerospace constraints by using commercial off-the-shelf components, leading to a $100,000 question about risk and cost. The conversation covers the transition from academic toy to industry standard, the role of launch providers, and Tyvak's current work on 50-kilogram microsats using similar philosophies.

Mentioned

Companies
Cal Poly SLO, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Stanford, Planet, Skybox, Terabella, JPL, Pumpkin, Gum Space, Inspire, SpaceX, OneWeb
Products
CubeSat, CP4, Voyager, Buccaneer, Arduino

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour

    Satellite Design Engineering with Dan Esparon

    Dan Esparon, Electrical Engineering Manager at Inovor Technologies, explains the end-to-end design and manufacturing of CubeSat satellites in South Australia. He details the company's in-house development of critical subsystems, including custom solar panels with triple-junction cells, lithium-ion battery modules with integrated BMS, and reaction wheels for attitude control. The conversation covers the engineering trade-offs between commercial off-the-shelf components and space-qualified parts, as well as the rigorous environmental testing required for launch. Esparon also discusses the operational aspects of recent missions like Canini and Spirit, including launch logistics, radiation hardening, and the use of hyperspectral and IoT payloads.

  • How I Built This · 1h 00m

    Planet: Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler

    Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, co-founders of Planet, explain how they left NASA to build small, inexpensive Earth-observation satellites, starting with prototypes in a garage and launching the first Dove satellites in 2013. They detail the strategic decision to leverage consumer electronics and accept higher failure rates to achieve daily global imaging, eventually scaling to a fleet of over 400 satellites. The company recently went public on the NYSE, raising nearly $600 million, while maintaining an ethics committee to manage the dual-use nature of their data for both humanitarian and security applications.

  • Over the Air · 22m

    From Closed to Open Source: Revolutionizing the Satellite Industry with Ian Itz, Director of IoT at Iridium

    Ian Itz, Director of IoT at Iridium, explains the company's strategic pivot from a proprietary, closed-ecosystem satellite model to an open-source, standards-based approach leveraging Arduino and NB-IoT. He details how Iridium's legacy 66-satellite constellation supports global IoT data, noting that their previous 'Swiss army knife' modules were over-engineered for developers, prompting a shift to simpler, open-standard hardware. Itz also discusses the high capital barriers of satellite infrastructure, contrasting Iridium's narrowband focus with Starlink's broadband model, and highlights partners like Geoforce who build robust, long-life asset tracking devices for the oil and gas industry.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 00m

    Inspirations and Aspirations - Recanting Rocket Rationale

    Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics and FindChips shares insights from tours of SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, reflecting on the high-pressure, mission-critical engineering culture in aerospace compared to consumer electronics. Dave Jones of EEVblog discusses his challenges in getting a side project manufactured by a large name-brand manufacturer, highlighting the difficulty of cost control and the necessity of setting artificial constraints to avoid scope creep. The hosts also debate the role of reality TV and YouTube in inspiring the next generation of engineers and the strategic decision to vertically integrate manufacturing versus outsourcing.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 15m

    Satellites and EVs with Joris Aerts

    Joris Aerts, who previously worked on the Tesla Model S door handle and now works at Hyber, discusses designing electronics for small satellites and a new modular testing platform. He explains Hyber's low-orbit IoT constellation, which uses scheduled flyovers for low-power, low-bandwidth data relay, contrasting it with high-bandwidth systems like Starlink. Aerts details the satellite's architecture, including the use of CAN bus for modularity, Linux-based processing, and the trade-offs between radiation hardening and cost. He also describes his initiative to create a standardized, rack-mountable test chassis to simplify hardware validation and remote debugging for engineers.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.