[Ground-station] UPSat overview + Open Source Cubesat Workshop

[Hugh Brown]

I watched the conference proceedings from the last one when they were
published a few months ago
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnoYzqAw_vM&list=PLCzrYL9QmZiSYYx5h_j8djGeLYibvbCp4),
and it was really, really interesting to see the work that's being
done.  I definitely agree that having amateur radio in general, and
Phase 4 Ground in particular, at the table will help; there have been
a lot of payloads going up with proprietary radios, or unpublished
telemetry formats, and there's a lot to improve there.

I would definitely love to go -- I love space, I love Open Source, and
I've wanted to be involved in a cubesat project for a long time.  But
I'm not sure I'm the right person at this time; I have not been
involved very much (cough) in this project so far, and am still
learning my way around things.  Consider me a distant third-string
alternate for this year (or possibly as a 2nd delegate?), and I'd love
to be better prepared to go next year. :-)

Thanks,
Hugh

Michelle Thompson wrote:
> Excellent question.
> 
> This is the second workshop from this community. It is supported by ESA and
> Libre Space and several others.
> 
> This meeting is entirely devoted to open source cubesat payloads. This is
> what we are looking at doing. It's the only gathering of its kind right now
> in the world. A large number of the current teams and successful open
> source payload builders will be there.
> 
> The content is real workshop experience. Small groups, focused on solving
> problems and sharing progress and giving support.
> 
> If I had known about the first one, I would have done all I could to get us
> there.
> 
> What do we get out of this?
> 
> I am hoping to get out of it a solid concept of what we want to achieve, in
> the context of what other groups are doing and sharing. I hope to find out
> exactly what we can re-use that gives us the best possible position to
> develop something new, especially in the area that we have expertise and
> interest.
> 
> I believe this is where we need to be to develop the best amateur radio
> payload. These are people we need to have in our community, if we want to
> succeed.
> 
> We bring something important to this workshop, and that is our background,
> experience, and identity in amateur radio. Not science, or experimental, or
> commercial - but amateur radio. We work from a different set of
> assumptions, have different goals, and have a different set of privileges
> and freedoms. If we don't speak up and represent and form a voice, then we
> miss out. We risk being crowded out by simplistic or commercial solutions.
> We have a role here, and that role is not just as a sponge. We can provide
> real service, under certain conditions. I believe we should be advocating
> our role at meetings and events like this one.
> 
> -Michelle W5NYV
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 4:04 PM, Hugh Brown <
> aardvark at saintaardvarkthecarpeted.com> wrote:
> 
> > Michelle Thompson via Ground-Station wrote:
> > > Please review if you are interested in participating in the payload part
> > of
> > > the project.
> >
> > Hi Michelle -- as we discussed at Hamvention, I'm definitely
> > interested in participating in the payload part of the project; I've
> > been meaning to read up on the UPSat project anyhow, so this is a good
> > excuse. :-)
> >
> > > Want to attend the Open Source Cubesat Workshop in Madrid in September to
> > > represent Phase 4? Let me know.
> >
> > What are you hoping to get out of attendance at the workshop?  (Not at
> > all questioning the value of going there, just not certain what in
> > particular you want to see come out of it.)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Hugh
> >

-- 
Hugh Brown
http://saintaardvarkthecarpeted.com