Build a satellite in your backyard

[samkent]

Which satellites or space probes “of history” could do it yourselfers recreate using currently available technology?

Lets assume it’s a free ride and drop off in LEO. And launch weight is not a concern.

With the increased knowledge of time and modern electronics of all types readily available, a good chunk of the engineering has been done for us. Just look at what we can pick up in just a days shopping.

Computers, Radio gear, Remote control gear, Cameras (video and still), Solar panels, Rechargeable batteries, even single shot model rocket engines!

Myself , being an amateur radio operator for decades and in electronic repair for 30 years. I suspect I have all of the parts needed for a Sputnik in my junk box already. Just dig up a metal case and it’s good to go.

[antoniseb]

Interesting question. I think that Sputnik 1 and Echo would both be pretty easy. Something that does detailed measurements and needs alignment would be a little tougher.

[John Mendenhall]

A light bucket, a multi meg digital camera, a state of the art PC, a set of gyros from a nuke sub, a good radio, and you're in the deep field business.

[Noclevername]

Lets assume it’s a free ride and drop off in LEO. And launch weight is not a concern.

Hey, if that's the case, I'll just send up my own space station!

[KaiYeves]

A light bucket, a multi meg digital camera, a state of the art PC, a set of gyros from a nuke sub, a good radio, and you're in the deep field business.

Interesting.
Not being a builder, I can only tell you what missions make cool and easy to draw cartoons.

[parejkoj]

A light bucket, a multi meg digital camera, a state of the art PC, a set of gyros from a nuke sub, a good radio, and you're in the deep field business.

And it would last less than 24 hours in orbit. Radiation hardening is your biggest problem. A state of the art PC would probably last a minute before the radiation shorted it out (smaller electronics traces are more susceptible to damage). The electronics would still be one of the more expensive/hard to get parts.

There are ways around this (such as using an older 286/386 processor with large circuits and hoping it lasts a week...).

[EvilEye]

... or wrapping them in gold foil.

[ngc3314]

I suspect you'd start out by using the classic Soviet practice of keeping most of the electronics inside presssurized vessels (often spherical, one of the things that made a lot of their products so recognizable). Thermal behavior is easier to deal with and more familiar, static discharges are not quite so easy to initiate. There are gains to developing vacuum-qualified electronics, but they seem to take a pretty substantial investment to realize. I've known systems that worked without any thermal blankets as long as you turned them on in direct sunlight and never turned them off in shadow. (I hasten to add that these were not mission-critical).

[Jeff Root]

I think that Sputnik 1 and Echo would both be pretty easy.

Sputnik 1, yes. (For almost anyone with an amateur radio license
and a few years' practice at building electronic circuits, plus access
to a metalworking lathe.) Echo, probably not. (Although I did just
read a story in which the protagonists escaped from a prison-like
planet with the help of a hydrogen-filled balloon that they made
out of stuff they had on hand. But, then, they had 23rd-Century
materials to make the balloon, and Spock to design it...)

Explorer 1 and Vanguard 1, on the other hand, should be doable.

If someone actually wants to do this, and comes up with a
design which involves returning to Earth by parachute, I have a
ballute you can use. Though it may be past its design lifetime.
I don't know how rayon ages. It has been kept out of the light.

I forget: rayon or dacron. It's in the next room but I don't want
to dig it out unless I really have to. It's international orange
and about a meter in diameter.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[samkent]

Ok so we put an old 286 and other electronics in a sealed metal box, say 1/8 inch steel with insulation around the sides. That’s still very easy for the DIY to do. Even if we just weld the box shut after the bench testing. Although I’m sure an avionics bone yard would have boxes with screw lids for a cheap price.
I still think the DIYer can overcome most of the hurdles with a little thought. Even to the point of the Ranger program. You can get some pretty powerful model rocket engines without a special license. Also Mythbusters showed there is a lot of power in a compressed air cylinder.

[djellison]

http://www.cubesatkit.com/ is an awesome place to start

[gwiz]

It's been done. Oscar 1, the first satellite built by amateurs, was given a ride into orbit in 1961. It operated until it's batteries ran down after nearly three weeks.

[John Mendenhall]

And it would last less than 24 hours in orbit. Radiation hardening is your biggest problem. A state of the art PC would probably last a minute before the radiation shorted it out (smaller electronics traces are more susceptible to damage)

Hey, they're lifting for free. Pack it in a lead box.

Seriously, I know that's unrealistic. Will the gold foil work?

[Kaptain K]

Pack it in a lead box. Seriously, I know that's unrealistic. Will the gold foil work?

Actually, heavy metals are about the worst shielding you can use. When relativistic particles hit heavy metal nuclei they produce a shower of x-rays.