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Putting the Raspberry Pi Into Orbit
Jack Spine writes "The Raspberry Pi is likely to be blasted into space, according to project founder Eben Upton. The $35/$25 credit-card-sized single-board educational computer could be used in sounding rockets, satellites, and high altitude balloon tests, according to Upton. Raspberry Pi has proved wildly popular since its launch, with one developer planning to build into a model boat to sail it across the Atlantic."
Why launch one into space when you can't even keep up with demand here on Earth?
I'm actually holding out for the cost-reduced version, the banana e.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Indeed, we must have our weekly pi propaganda!
To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
I'm going to admit how stupid I am.
I have heard the Raspberry Pi mentioned dozens of times on Slashdot. I looked at their website, checked out their logo competition.
It's only with your comment about porn that I've realise it's a pun for "Raspberry PIE". I think because I only ever read (rather than heard) it, I just took it a face value.
Thanks AC.
they will use a monster brand hdmi cable, it will be fine
Part of the issue is the frequency of the posted Raspberry Pi stories that annoys others, let alone myself. The other is that, while it's a nice, little piece of equipment, it's nothing special: anyone that has gone through a decent electrical/computer engineering program should be more than capable of laying out a similar PCB, within the span of a month or two; after that point, ordering the parts and having them mounted is trivial.
I suspect it's also a pun on Apple (Raspberry) and its line of i-Devices (Pi rhymes with i).
Oh lordy, here come the trademark lawyers...
Yes, you can buy them if you were incredibly lucky. Myself? I've been stuck on a waiting list for a couple of months now.
This is the problem with F/OSS hardware projects, you can either take the gamble and pre-order way in advance in hopes of avoiding the delay but take the risk that the project will never materialize at all or may completely change its goals, or you wait and it takes 3-4 months before you get your product, and by that time, something else will have come out.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Because everyone does it these days. Every other university has a student "space exploration interest club" who launch a helium balloon to "near" space, snap a picture and recover their "satellite". Google launched 7 such balloons with a bunch of Android phones onboard to prove that "Android works in space", and the iPad pouch creators launched one to show how their pouch/case protects your iPad in the event of it accidentally falling from space. A couple of years ago it was "it can run your toaster", now it's "it works in space", everyone does it. Two questions asked of *every* new device out there: Will it blend? Will it work in space?
The really creative folks launch chairs into space (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hSDbAo2WMk&feature=player_embedded -- where's safety?) or a tent with people inside.
... of components due to lack of air (and gravity!) for convection cooling. I think that these are not the same things (although they are related) the sunlit side of the satellite could be a toasty 100 degrees C, while the dark side could be -100. If the satellite is spinning but not fast enough perhaps some traces could expand and contract enough to break. Meanwhile without air to conduct heat, a single small component on the board could overheat and fail.
I think the Russians (at least in the early days), put their electronics in pressured boxes with fans to stir the air. The Americans developed space (vacuum) ready components and designs from the get go.
Put this Raspebrry Pi in my hands.