"Flying laptop" spacecraft could "transform" in space, sort of
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 22nd 2009 5:41AM
posted July 22nd 2009 5:41AM
Impressive as they are, satellites and space probes aren't always the most versatile pieces of equipment once they're up in orbit. A new satellite developed by researchers from the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Space Systems looks set to shake things up in a pretty big way when it launches in 2012, however, even if it's not quite the "transforming" space probe that you might be imagining. Described as a "flying laptop," the satellite promises to pack a vast array of instruments and sensors, including cameras, multispectral imagers, star trackers, and GPS receivers, to name a few, all of which can apparently be completely reconfigured on the fly in space. That, the researchers say, could let the satellite switch from, say, an atmospheric pollution sensor to a near-Earth asteroid detector, an even open up some new commercial possibilities, with different groups able to rent out the satellite to perform various tasks.
I, for one, welcome our transforming space robot overlords,
Although, if they are susceptible to Blendtec blenders, we might have a chance!
Blah Blah Blah Transforming Satellites Blah Blah Blah
If you scientist want to build Starscream just say you're going to build Starscream
Think you mean Soundwave!
Agreed... additionally they could have warranted such research by saying they were looking for ways to keep Shia LeBouf from making movies.
I hope they actually start to mass-produce these; satellite manufacturing is still in the "bespoke one-off" stage. Even multiple-vehicle networks like Skynet are individually built to a common plan rather than mass-produced like cars.
Agreed, I am only interested once I can purchase one in Tesco complete with launch package for £99...
You know small satellites are already flying since the early eighties. They have always be the pacemaker for the often risk averse big space business.
So if you wonder whether Agent Jack Bauer could possibly command and receive video Data from a large Spy Sat in real time - well no he could not but he would if he had asked the guys from the Berlin TUBSAT project instead.
Videos and Images of actual flying satellites are on their page:
http://www.TUBSAT.de
Video of real time interactive satellite control
http://www.tubsat.de/sat/lapan/archive/2007_11_07_genoa/flash.htm
can we call it wall-e?
If GPS is good for navigating in space, when will TomTom, Garmin and the likes take notice of this. As it is, people are susceptible to boldly follow their navigators where no sane man has gone before, find themselves on a launchpad and be shot into space.
The picture Engadget chose kinda looks like a drum set at first glance heh.
Breakdown of this item: A guy found a way to make FPGA work in space by effectively shielding them.
So NOT: A guy thought up a small satellite.
Incidentally small satellites were there before the 80's, in fact the first satellite ever the sputnik was tiny, most satellites are as small as possible because it's not easy to get stuff into space, or at least not cheap.
And yes there are pretty damn good spy satellites that can resolve below an inch (really BBC reporters, no point in denying it), and no jack bauer is a not a real person but a fictional TV character popular because of the angst the (republican?) americans experienced due to bush's and the neocon campaign to scare people using 9/11.
So, rather than designing a satellite to do one thing really well, they're building one that can do lots of things in a mediocre fashion.
BILLY MAZE HERE To tell you about an exciting new product from the people that brought you camera phones...
I'm sorry Dave; I can't do that.
Will this help detect the world's end in 2012 ?