PIC's in space

[ScaleRobotics]

It's always interesting to hear where PIC's end up. For some reason it always pleases me to discover the product I bought has a PIC chip in it. So I get even more interested when I hear about things like this: (Might have something to do with my interest in PIC's, ham radio, and space.) Of course, they don't explicitly say it has Microchip's PIC's in it.... But hey, with 4 years spent on it by Microchip engineers, I doubt they were using Arduino .

http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler...te-That-D.html



ARISSat-1 is the prototype test flight for a proposed series of educational satellites being developed in a partnership with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corp. (AMSAT), the NASA Office of Education ISS National Lab Project, the Amateur Radio on ISS (ARISS) working group and RSC-Energia. If all goes well with tomorrow’s deployment, it will perform the following primary functions:
· Two-way communication via UHF uplink and VHF downlink, for use by ham radio operators
· Visuals of space from four cameras
· Recharging of the satellite’s battery using solar panels, enabling operation for months
· Transmission of audio greetings in many languages, for reception via simple radios or scanners
· Telemetry transmissions with updates on the health of the satellite
· House an experiment from Russia’s Kursk University that measures atmospheric pressure

[mister_e]

But hey, with 4 years spent on it by Microchip engineers, I doubt they were using Arduino .

That make sense... Perhaps Z80 or 8051?

[rmteo]

Here's one you can actually buy if you have about $300,000 (excluding launch costs) to spare http://www.cubesatkit.com/#

Compared to traditional multi-million-dollar satellite missions, CubeSat projects have the potential to educate the participants and implement successful and useful missions in science and industry at much lower costs.

CubeSat payloads and experiments are often new and unique, and project timelines are typically 9-24 months from inception to launch. Since launch opportunties are scheduled well in advance, it's critically important that a CubeSat project adhere to its schedules and stay on time and under budget.

CubeSat missions still require considerable planning and many man-hours of work to maximize the chances for success. By employing as much standardization as possible you can concentrate on your project's mission-specific goals. By making use of as many off-the-shelf commercial and freely available tools and components in the construction of the nanosatellite, you'll save time and money.

[mister_e]

SuitSat-1 using PIC18F8722
http://www.microcontroller.com/news/...tSat1_NASA.asp

[Ioannis]

I wonder how are the electronics cooled in space. Even the slight temp rise has to be taken into account since there is no heat dissipation in space.

IR maybe?

Ioannis

[mister_e]

IcePaks and Vanilla Ice ... the dairy product... not the rapper

[ScaleRobotics]

And it doesn't hurt that you can cook that PIC18F8722 chip up to 257 degrees F and still be in spec. But there are a few PIC chips, like the PIC18F4680 that go up to 302 F!