Description
The AmbaSat-1 STARTER Kit is your entry into Low Earth Orbit Space! This kit comes with a fully-assembled satellite mainboard which includes the ATMEGA 328 microcontroller, RFM95 LoRaWAN radio transceiver with a 700 kilometer+ range, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, capacitors, resistors, clock crystal, voltage regulator and LED. The AmbaSat-1 Kit also comes with your chosen sensor board (see below), 2xAA battery holder for portable power plus the FTDI programmer so that you can code your satellite directly from a Windows or Linux personal computer. Full example source code, step-by-step assembly guide and templates are also supplied.
What needs assembling and what skills are required?
- You will need to solder the sensor board onto the main satellite board
- Solder the six connector pins onto the main satellite board. These are required in order to program your satellite and provide power.
- Solder the LoRaWAN radio transceiver antenna to the main board
Assembly is straightforward and only needs basic soldering skills. Once assembled, use the included programmer to copy your code to the onboard ATMEGA328P-AU microcontroller via a standard USB port. AmbaSat-1 is fully Arduino compatible so programming the satellite is straightforward using the Arduino IDE or Microsoft Visual Studio Code. There are also lots of ready-made open-source code examples available on the AmbaSat GitHub page which you can copy and adapt as needed.
AmbaSat-1 uses LoraWAN for communications. Sensor data is sent to your desktop or mobile device and appears on your AmbaSat Dashboard. Proximity to a TTN Gateway is required to send data to the AmbaSat web Dashboard but is not required for assembly and testing. Also, the AmbaSat Gateway is a perfect companion and is available in the online store.
Included in the kit:
- AmbaSat-1 main board with assembled components
- Sensor of your choice (see below for available sensors)
- Programmer board to connect your computer with AmbaSat-1
- 2xAA battery holder and connectors
- Welcome pack with links to step-by-step assembly instructions
- Free open source access to example code
- Free access to the AmbaSat Web Dashboard with live rocket launch video feed
Included in the kit price: Choose one of the following sensors for your AmbaSat-1 satellite:
Sensor 01 – Humidity and Temperature
A best in class Humidity & Temperature Sensor. The SHT3X is a fully calibrated, linearized, and temperature compensated digital output with a wide supply voltage range, I2C Interface with communication speeds up to 1MHz and two user selectable addresses.
Sensor 02 – Temperature
A 3x3mm, fully calibrated digital temperature. The STS21 sensor comes with impressive performance and features a I²C address. Outstanding accuracy in a tiny package and low power consumption.
Sensor 03 – Gas, Pressure, Temperature & Humidity
A low power gas, pressure, temperature & humidity sensor. The BME680 is a 4-in-1 multi-functional MEMS environmental sensor which integrates VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor and barometer. Monitor 4 environmental parameters simultaneously. This sensor is widely used in environmental monitoring, home automation and control, Internet of Things (IoT) wearable device, GPS, etc.
Sensor 04 – Ambient Light
The OPT3001 ambient light sensor measures the intensity of visible light. The spectral response of the sensor closely matches the photopic response of the human eye, with infrared rejection. It is a single-chip lux meter, measuring the intensity of light as visible by the human eye. The precision spectral response and strong IR rejection of the device enables the OPT3001 to accurately meter the intensity of light as seen by the human eye regardless of light source.
Sensor 05 – TVOC (Total Volatile Organic Compounds)
Designed for detecting total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). The ZMOD4410 is a 12-pin LGA assembly (3.0 x 3.0 x 0.7 mm) that consists of a gas sense element and a CMOS signal conditioning IC. The module’s sense element consists of heater element on a Si-based MEMS structure and a metal oxide (MOx) chemiresistor. The signal conditioner controls the sensor temperature and measures the MOx conductivity, which is a function of the gas concentration.
Sensor 06 – UV Sensor
The Si1132 is a low-power, ultraviolet (UV) index, and ambient light sensor with I2C digital interface and programmable-event interrupt output. This sensor IC includes an analog-to-digital converter, integrated high sensitivity visible and infrared photodiodes, and digital signal processor. The Si1132 offers excellent performance under a wide dynamic range and a variety of light sources including direct sunlight.
Sensor 07 – Carbon Emissions
The CCS811 is an ultra-low power digital gas sensor solution which integrates a metal oxide (MOX) gas sensor to detect a wide range of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and includes an Analog-to-Digital converter (ADC), and an I²C interface. Supporting intelligent algorithms to process raw sensor measurements and output equivalent total VOC (eTVOC) and equivalent CO2 (eCO2) values.
Sensor 08 – GPS
The Teseo-LIV3R Global Positioning System module is an easy to use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) standalone positioning receiver IC working simultaneously on multiple constellations. This certified module comes with optimized RF, embedded firmware and is compact at only 9.7×10.1 mm. Supporting GPS, Glonass, BeiDou & QZSS positioning systems. Note. This sensor is only available for Earth-based usage due to its footprint and COCOM restrictions in space.
Custom Sensors
You can also create your own custom sensor as long as it conforms to our design specifications (size, power & safety). Your AmbaSat satellite provides additional connectivity pins which expose the ATMEGA’s I2C bus, as well as digital and analogue pins, MISO, MOSI and power.
Registered Shipping with Track and Trace
Your AmbaSat-1 kit will be shipped using registered track and trace. International delivery times are usually less than 5 working days to anywhere in the world.
Rocket Launch Upgrade
The AmbaSat-1 STARTER Kit is fully upgradeable to a Low Earth Orbit Space launch. Purchase this STARTER kit now and if you later decide that you would like to launch it into Space, your satellite can join the full AmbaSat rocket launch programme which includes pre-launch testing of your satellite’s hardware assembly and code, shipping to our launch site and a certified place on board our AmbaSat Launcher. On the day of the rocket launch, a live video feed of the launch is available via the AmbaSat Dashboard so you can watch YOUR satellite get launched into SPACE!
