DIY Instruments for Amateur Space (gnv64)

DIY Instruments for Amateur Space: Inventing Utility for Your Spacecraft Once it Achieves Orbit
by Sandy Antunes
O'Reilly | April 2013 | ISBN-10: 1449310648 | PDF | 120 pages | 18.4 mb
http://www.amazon.com/DIY-Instruments-Amateur-Space-Spacecraft/dp/1449310648

What can you measure and what are your limits when orbiting in space? Learn about what physical quantities you can measure and what types of sensors you can buy or build. We cover the 5 essential design limits as well: power, bandwidth, resolution, computing... and legal limitations. Explore what you can play with using your own personal satellite.

About the Author

Dr. Alexander "Sandy" Antunes (born 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a Maryland-area astronomer, author, and role playing game designer. He graduated from Boston University in 1989 with a dual major in astronomy and physics, received a Masters in astronomy from Penn State in 1992, and received his PhD in computational astrophysics from George Mason University in 2005. He was the Maryland Science Center "Science Person of the Month" for May 2007.

CONTENTS
Preface. . . . . . . . . vii
1/Understanding Measurement. . . . . . . . . 1
2/Introduction to Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . 9
3/By Wavelength. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4/Fundamental Detector Types. . . . . . .. . . . . . . 27
5/Detectors and Instruments and Sensors, Oh My!. . . .. . . . . . . . 37
7/Resolution, By the Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8/Noise. . . . . . . . . . . . 65
9/Calibration. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 69
10/Protocols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
11/Instrument Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
12/Off-the-Shelf Sensor Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
13/Committing, Freezing, Moving Forward. . . . . .. . . . . . . 99
A/ Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . 103