swarm-xplorer

The Swarm Xplorer project offers to launch in space a vast group of mini satellites, built with hacked and repurposed mobile phones, and designed to collect a large amount of photographic data for space research. Swarm Xplorer is the exact opposite of traditional space technologies, by using low-tech devices rather than high-tech ones, therefore allowing to multiply the number of probes by focusing on low cost production and a simple manufacture and implementation. Each one of those satellites are designed in an open source perspective, to use and exploit smartphone components, affordable and freely available technologies and resources but also simple technics and materials resisting space and its hostile conditions. Yet the idea is to launch with a spacecraft a swarm of those automated probes to explore and photograph various celestial body under different points of view and orbits. The data will then be sent and extracted by a mesh network of nearby satellites the through the ISS to be passed on to earth.

Side shooting and transmission:

The General principle: We propose the development of an operating system kit that is compatible with most smartphones. It would use only the necessary functions of the smartphone, to save energy as much as possible. Two programs revolve in parrallel: a shooting program and a data transmission program.

The Shooting: Shooting would be through the phones camera . In order to save the phones memory , not all the photos will be saved. We will use the principle of a simple photograph by verifying that the image`s histogramme does not contain more than 80% of black. Otherwise, it is deleted. Then, we use a geolocation program and insert it in the image. Finally, we propose that the shooting is done every N-seconds (N is chosen before the takeoff ).

Transmission: Theoretically, a Wimax signal on earth reaches a maximum range of 50km. Therefore, we propose to test this kind of technology in space. For two reasons: the flow control and the ability to use the Internet protocols. This is how it is done: Each satellite is recognizable by an ip address Each satellite has a mapping ip (IP / Name_of_sateliite or ISS) The aim is to continually send the satellite`s data to the ISS through other satellites that are the closest to the latter.

Design :

The concept is a multilayer bubble filled with expanded foam, and in which the phone is placed on the inner wall. The multilayered bubble is composed of a photovoltaic fabric in order to transform the light into energy, a layer of metallized polyester which plays the role of a Faraday cage on one hand and a thermal insulator on the other , and a layer of PVC which will be inflated and filled with the foam before the bubble is sent to space.  The smartphone is placed in a pocket with two batteries that will load the phone in case the satellite is not exposed to light, so it only works temporarily. Otherwise, the photovoltaic fabric is the main energy supplier : it is linked to the pocket by a cable. Moreover, there is a hole in the satellite , just as big as the lens diameter in order to take pictures. 

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