JPL employee turned YouTuber, Mark Rober, launched his very own satellites to space on the recent SpaceX Transporter-12 mission. The purpose was to snap a photo of a Google Pixel showing a selfie sent by his fans.Rober’s channel has focused on educating the public on complex engineering and technology topics with fun projects. The YouTuber even created a subscription box called CrunchLabs that brings those types of projects inside his viewers’ homes. Alongside this, Rober also just enjoys creating videos on crazy topics, explaining how they work along the way, like defeating porch pirates with glitter bomb packages.
Being Rober has some experience in space, he was part of the team that worked on NASA‘s Curiosity Mars rover; building satellites just made sense to eventually do it. Thanks to lowered costs by SpaceX’s rideshare missions on its Falcon 9 rocket and advances in satellite manufacturing, Rober was able to make it happen.
Now it’s still not cheap; satellites, even at their smallest size, can still cost thousands of dollars in hardware expenses and likely much more in engineering and testing costs. That’s before you get it to launch.
Rober’s satellite has a pretty simple mission: take a photo of a Google Pixel 8 Pro displaying a photo sent by a fan, with Earth as the backdrop. A video posted on Rober’s channel detailed the problems in making that a reality. He explained making the Pixel’s hardware radiation-proof, having a complete backup system, and using reaction wheels to orient the spacecraft.
SatGus was launched into space on January 14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission was one of many regularly scheduled rideshare missions by SpaceX, where multiple small satellite producers can share the cost of a ride into orbit.On Transporter-12, the payload fairing was filled with 131 satellites of various sizes and functions.
Over the last decade, companies have begun to move to the new “CubSat” platform of satellites, standardized small satellites that have made the cost of launching constellations of satellites or pathfinders of larger satellites much cheaper.
And with the rise of YouTube stars like Mark Rober, it seems we have found a crossroads where space is now within the reach of some of those creators.
There are two ways you can gain access to upload a photo to SatGus; you’ll either need to be a subscriber of Robert’s CrunchBox service or sponsor a box for $30.
Then, once the satellite is commissioned, which can take a few weeks if everything goes right, SatGus will use T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink to receive and send photos to and from the satellite. SatGus is expected to stay in space for one to three years before atmospheric drag eventually brings it down.
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