MainEngineCutOff recently interviewed Jon in their podcast: https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/82A great interview going over what the team has been up to, pivoting to find a niche in the market place and current plans.I really enjoyed the interview, it's always great to hear from someone developing innovative products in the industry.
Ever had to retire a satellite prematurely just because its batteries were dying, or a reaction wheel was acting up?
Ever wanted to take advantage of new technology like laser comms for your constellation, but you weren't sure it'd be ready for prime-time soon enough?
Ever wished you didn't have to throw out an otherwise perfectly functional spacecraft just because your payload goes obsolete quickly?
What if satellites, like computers or smartphones, had something like a USB port so you could plug in a battery extender, a spare reaction wheel, a laser comms upgrade, or an upgraded payload?
On August 6th at @SmallSat, Altius will be hosting a workshop introducing our MagTag™ modular servicing interfaces and soliciting feedback from participants.Want to help define the future of satellite servicing? RSVP here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/workshop-for-modular-interfaces-for-satellite-servicing-and-repair-tickets-47993480793
Is this related to/a derivative of DogTag? Wasn't that somehow related to ACES at one point?
Thanks FST. As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday, the idea of modular ORUs has been around probably longer than I've been alive, but our goal was to come up with something with no moving parts, small and cheap enough to be useful even to cubesats, yet capable enough to be useful even for a flagship mission.~Jon
Quote from: jongoff on 07/26/2018 01:51 amThanks FST. As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday, the idea of modular ORUs has been around probably longer than I've been alive, but our goal was to come up with something with no moving parts, small and cheap enough to be useful even to cubesats, yet capable enough to be useful even for a flagship mission.~JonNASA Goddard hosted a couple of workshops on on orbit servicing and ORU's in the mid 1970's. AFAIK only Hubble ever really took advantage (eventually) of the techniques.
Just wondering, what sort of trades were made for Active/Passive vs. Androgynous MagTags? I can imagine that androgyny doesn't offer any benefit in most of the use cases considered, but it might have opened up other future possibilities for the standard.(you can tell I work in software and not hardware based on this question alone )
Ok, so yeah, longer than I've been alive. In aerospace often times good ideas have to get reinvented a few times before they finally stick.~Jon
Quote from: jongoff on 07/27/2018 04:04 amOk, so yeah, longer than I've been alive. In aerospace often times good ideas have to get reinvented a few times before they finally stick.~JonIdeas seem to have a sort of "activation energy." Once they have gained enough of this "energy" then they move (possibly quite suddenly) from "notions" to implementation. In this context your companies plans for these connectors may be one of the things that gives energy to the concept of routine on orbit servicing (by upgrading or replacing, rather than the classic 70's idea of a person in an EVA suit).
NASA Goddard hosted a couple of workshops on on orbit servicing and ORU's in the mid 1970's. AFAIK only Hubble ever really took advantage (eventually) of the techniques.
{snip}We're still not sure if there's any real advantage to the androgynous design, but if there is an application for it, it would be really easy to implement. Basically you'd just have two opposing quadrants be switchable magnets, and the other two be ferrous plates, with pins in two opposite corners and sockets in the other two. The magnets should in theory be able to grip the other magnets (though maybe with some losses), etc.{snip}
https://twitter.com/rocketrepreneur/status/1063311384736219136Are there any details published about Altius’ hardware going to ISS?