Dispatches.
Announcements, release notes, launch reports, position papers. Curated by the LSF team.
IPFS-tiny: attempting to take IPFS to Space
The Libre Space Foundation (LSF) is developing IPFS-tiny, a smaller adaptation of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) designed for limited-resource devices such as satellites and spacecraft. The project aims to bring IPFS, which utilizes a distributed architecture for decentralized and resilient data storage and access, to space. The implementation of IPFS-tiny in space could greatly enhance the exchange, sharing, and access of data and potentially transform the way we think about and access data online.
Libre Space Foundation participates in the REWIRE Research and Innovation Action on compositional security verification and assurance.
Libre Space Foundation participates in the REWIRE Research and Innovation Action, which officially started on October 1st, 2022. The project is funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101070627) and spans the period of October 2022 – September 2025. REWIRE envisions a holistic framework for continuous security assessment of open-source and […]
…And we are back in Space!
On the 1st of October 2022 and at 07:01 UTC, Libre Space Foundation’s QUBIK mission made it to space! Launched onboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha Flight 2, #ToTheBlack. With this mission, Libre Space Foundation (LSF) returned to Space! ..and this is the story of the QUBIK mission. Picking up the thread of the narration from the […]
Cronos: A hybrid-fueled sounding rocket designed and manufactured by a University-student team
At Libre Space Foundation (LSF), we support open-source projects that enhance scientific research and promote knowledge. For the past two years, and true to our values, members of the LSF team have been overseeing the development of Cronos. A hybrid-fueled sounding rocket that is an inspiring and promising project engineered by a talented university-student team. […]
The Open Source CubeSat Workshop 2021: An Overview
The Open Source CubeSat Workshop 2021, organised by the Libre Space Foundation, was held online for the second consecutive year due to pandemic safety measures. Attracting global open-source enthusiasts, the event offered live streaming of presentations deep-diving into space-related technologies and projects. Despite the lack of physical connectivity, the online format enhanced inclusivity and accessibility, inspiring collaboration across different continents. The workshop included presentations on satellite event detection, open-source software suite for mission profiles, open-space data link protocol, and developments in open-source electric propulsion.
Join us for the Software Defined Radio makerspace results webinar in 6-8 September
SDRmakerspace is a European Space Agency activity implemented by Libre Space Foundation in collaboration with the Institute of Reconfigurable & Embedded Digital Systems (REDS) of the Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud — HEIG-VD in Switzerland. The activity is part of the ARTES programme of the European Space Agency that supports […]
Building paper models of the Qubik twin satellite mission, as we get ready for launch
Firefly Aerospace a few days ago announced the successful static fire test of the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle on its launchpad, preparing for its inaugural flight. On the final stage of this rocket, Firefly Aerospace engineers have integrated PicoBus, Libre Space Foundation's open-source hardware PocketQube class satellite deployer, hosting several satellites including Qubik 1 and […]
GSoC Project: Producing Rich Analysis Reports for Polaris-Ayush Bansal
In the past two weeks, we focused on the projects that Libre Space Foundation has been mentoring in this year's GSoC programme. Thus, we have already presented the project about Improving the transmission capabilities of gr-satnogs by Michalis Raptakis and Expanding events detection in Poliastro by Yash Gondhalekar. Today, we will focus on Rich Analysis […]
GSoC Project: Expanding events detection in Poliastro-Yash Gondhalekar
Supporting knowledge and scientific research are among our main goals at Libre Space Foundation. This is why we have been participating in the Google Summer of Code for the third year in a row, mentoring three amazing projects. The first project is about Improving the transmission capabilities of gr-satnogs developed by Michalis Raptakis. We presented […]
Polaris: Applying Machine Learning to Satellite Operations
The Libre Space Foundation's Polaris project is developing a Python-based, machine-learning tool to assist satellite operators in analysing telemetry data and predicting satellite behaviour. Named Polaris ML, it gathers and visualises data to aid in comprehending the impact of various parameters on each other. The tool comprises modules for data fetching, learning, visualisation, and output conversion. It uses Vinvelivaanilai for space weather data and Betsi for anomaly detection. While not replacing existing techniques or operators, Polaris ML enhances operational efficiency. It has been utilised in missions like BOBCAT-1 and QUBIK and welcomes collaborations for future projects.
Help us translate the LSTN Handbook and bring space technology to more public libraries around the world
The Library Space Technology Network (LSTN) is a project brought to life by Wolbach Library in collaboration with Libre Space Foundation. LSTN is a pilot program aimed at offering public library communities the opportunity to engage with Space Technology. Though the project is ambitious, language poses substantial limitations for communities to join. And this is […]
Google Summer of Code 2021: Announcing the three projects that will participate in the program with Libre Space Foundation
For the third year in a row, Libre Space Foundation is selected as a mentoring organisation for the Google Summer of Code program. The application period has now closed and the results are in!The three projects that will be participating in this iteration of the Google Summer of Code via Libre Space Foundation are the […]
2021 CubeSat Developers Workshop: Interesting talks and workshops
The 2021 CubeSat Developers Workshop is happening in a few days and is organised by Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA. It will be a virtual conference taking place from the 27th to the 29th of April. The CubeSat Developers Workshop (#CubeSatDW) “Working Together” will feature amazing talks and useful workshops. You can find […]
Call for students: Join us in building open-source space technologies through Google Summer of Code 2021
Google announced today that Libre Space Foundation is among the mentoring organizations of Google’s Summer of Code 2021. This selection provides opportunities for students that would like to work on open-source space technologies during their summer break and start participating in the Libre Space community. If you are an eligible student and interested in working with open-source […]
Overview, talks and takeaways of the 4th iteration of the Open Source CubeSat Workshop
The Open Source CubeSat Workshop 2020! The Open Source CubeSat Workshop is a yearly event that brings together enthusiasts from the fields of space technology, engineering, CubeSats, mission control and analysis, and of course, Open Source. The event has been around for four years and has been gaining continuous success and building rapport among Space […]
The QUBIK Mission: Ready for orbit
Libre Space Foundation (LSF) is devoted to designing and building open-source space technologies. We always support and promote space exploration, scientific research and knowledge. For the past year, we have been working hard on the QUBIK mission to create a platform on which a series of amateur radio experiments will be conducted, upon the mission's […]
Libre Space Foundation joins the International Astronautical Federation
We are proud to announce that Libre Space Foundation has been accepted as a member of the International Astronautical Federation! We are excited to be part of such a great community with which we share a love for Space, Space exploration and research. International Astronautical Federation and Libre Space Foundation IAF aims at "Connecting @ll […]
Libre Space Foundation joins RISC-V International as a Community Member.
At Libre Space Foundation, we are always thrilled when we join forces with organizations and initiatives promoting the open-source development methodologies.For this, we could not be more excited to announce our membership to RISC-V International. A few words about RISC-V What RISC-V is RISC-V is an open-standard, instruction set architecture (ISA). For those not very […]
Deep Learning and Space Weather in GSoC's 2020 Libre Space Foundation contributions
In May 2020, we announced that Libre Space Foundation would be mentoring two projects for the Google Summer of Code 2020. As the students are about to submit their final work, we would like to share with you an overview of their achievements/progress this summer. One of the GSoC proposals is to create a Python […]
Gr-leo: A GNU Radio open-source space channel simulator
In order to understand what gr-leo is and why it is considered to be a powerful, open-source simulation tool, let us first take a look at why it is necessary. Gr-leo is here to fill a gap and to ensure that the quality of communication between a satellite and the ground station is not impaired […]
LSF Project onboarding and the Libre Space Manifesto
Libre Space Foundation is an organization dedicated to creating open-source, space technologies. Often we come across a project that wishes to join us, or we are approached by exciting initiatives to assist them in their endeavors. However, joining LSF as a project is a process that must meet specific criteria and particular requirements. In this article, […]
Google Summer of Code 2020: Announcing the two projects we will be mentoring
For the second year in a row, Libre Space Foundation was selected as a mentor organisation for the Google Summer of Code initiative. The application period has closed and the results are in, and so it is with great excitement that we announce the two projects we will be mentoring over the next few months. […]
The QUBIK Project: The progress so far
Libre Space Foundation is devoted to the vision of open-source technologies in space, and for this, we often join forces with researchers, individuals, and teams who share this vision with us. One exciting project we have taken up is the QUBIK Project. A few words about the Project Our love for space has brought us […]
Space Situational Awareness — The story so far and an open way forward
An essay on the necessity of an open data approach for space. With tens of thousands of objects being already in orbit and hundreds of thousands coming up in the near future, it is no secret that keeping track and predicting orbital attitude and position for those objects will become imperative for viable and sustainable […]
Call for students: join us building open space technologies through Google Summer of Code 2020
Google announced today that Libre Space Foundation is among the mentoring organizations of Google's Summer of Code 2020. This selection provides opportunities for students that would like to work full-time on open space technologies during their summer break and start participating in the Libre Space community. Google Summer of Code is an annual program providing university students the […]
LSF head back to Orbit with the Qubik Mission
Libre Space Foundation is proud to announce that it is currently developing and integrating 2 pocketqube satellites (QUBIK-1 & QUBIK-2) and supplying a pocketqube deployer (PICOBUS) to be flown as part of the DREAM payloads program on the inaugural Firefly Alpha launch from Firefly Aerospace. Scheduled for launch around the end of the first quarter […]
Work Begins on Space Library Projects.
Last week in Libre Space Foundation HQ in Athens LSF hosted the kick-off meeting of the Space Library project. Papadeas Pierros (Director of Operations, LSF) and Daina Bouquin (Head Librarian at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) headed the meeting which was joined by many members of Libre Space Foundation. The Space Library is an initiative led by […]
Libre Space Foundation partners with Harvard’s Wolbach Library to launch Space Library funded by Sloan Foundation
The Wolbach Library at the Center for Astrophysics and the Libre Space Foundation recently received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to create new infrastructure to support small satellite missions and enable public engagement with space technology. These efforts are part of the “Space Library,” a new multicomponent initiative at Wolbach that is working to […]
OSCW19, Call for Participation now open.
The call for participation for the third Open Source Cubesat Workshop is now open. This year the OSCW will be held over 3 days in the beautiful Athens Conservatoire between the 14th and 16th October. The call for abstracts reads as follows; CubeSats have proven to be an ideal tool for exploring news ways of […]
Libre Space Activity Update 2019-05-01
Open Source Cubesat Workshop 2019 Announced This years Open Source Cubesat Workshop (OSCW) dates have been announced and we are excited to host the event in Athens from the 14th to the 16th October 2019. Previous years have seen an amazing attendance from a really diverse range of backgrounds spanning makerspaces, academia and industry and […]
Libre Space Activity Update 2019-03-27
MIT, Beyond the Cradle 2019 Members of the LSF team travelled to attend and speak at the "Beyond the Cradle" event held at MIT in Boston in the US. This lively conference was focused on envisioning a new space age and as such had a plethora of speakers from a diverse range of areas of […]
Libre Space Foundation selected as a mentor organization for Google Summer of Code
We are excited to share the news that Libre Space Foundation is selected as a mentoring organization for Google Summer of Code (aka GSoC) 2019! As a result of this selection Libre Space has summer opportunities for university students who are interested in working on open-source space technologies. Google Summer of Code is an annual […]
FOSDEM 2019 Report
The Libre Space Foundations team and contributors attended a snowy FOSDEM to promote Libre Space and to work together on the various LSF projects. Around 21 regular contributors spent a lot of time together working in the apartment the LSF team had booked and it was wonderful to see the community meeting in real life […]
Libre Space Activity Update 2018-12-21
Welcome New Team Members This week Libre Space formally welcomed four new contributors to the LSF team, these are; Jo Hinchliffe Fabian Schmidt Patrick Dohmen Cees Bassa All four of them have been contributing tirelessly to our projects, inmeaningful ways, therefore it was only right to welcome them and include them as team contributors. Busy times in the SatNOGs community It's been a […]
Open Source Cubesat Workshop '17
A few days ago Libre Space Foundation, the Librecube Initiative and European Space Agency's European Space Operation Center Cybernetics Team came together and co-organized Open Source Cubesat Workshop '17 (or OSCW17 for short) at the European Space Operations Center Headquarters in Germany. For two days, the European Space Operation Center opened its doors to our […]
Successful deployment of UPSat, the first open source satellite
UPSat, the first open source hardware and software satellite, was released in orbit by NanoRacks deployer from the International Space Station at 08:24 UTC 2017-05-18. After 30 minutes, UPSat subsystems commenced normal operations in orbit. The SatNOGS open ground station network started receiving telemetry signals from UPSat in several ground-stations deployed globally shortly after its […]
Libre Space Foundation has a new home — libre.space
A few days ago Libre Space Foundation got access to the "libre.space" domain due to a generous contribution of the original owner of the domain and member of the SatNOGS community Matt Carberry. We are looking forward to use this domain not only for Libre Space Foundation initiatives, such us SatNOGS and UPSat, but want […]
Launch services for CANSAT Greece 2017
On April 19th 2017 Libre Space Foundation launched 5 High Power Rockets for 2017 CANSAT Greece student contest. The weeks prior the contest day, Libre Space Foundation electronics lab and workshop where open for the student teams who needed equipment not readily available in their school. Aiming to provide a scaled down satellite delivery and launch experience for students, […]
The first open source hardware satellite is delivered
The UPSat team of engineers is proud to announce the delivery of the first completely open source software and hardware satellite! A major step towards UPSat’s launch has being completed. Its successful delivery to Innovative Solutions In Space (ISISpace) took place on August 18th in Delft, Netherlands. UPSat is the first complete delivery to ISISpace […]
SatNOGS core team creates Libre Space Foundation after winning the Hackaday Prize
One month ago in Berlin Hackaday announced SatNOGS as the Grand prize winner of the Hackaday Prize 2014. We are excited to see SatNOGS, the open source hardware and free software satellite ground station network, winning the recognition of the Hackaday Prize judges, the Hackaday staff and last but not least it’s awesome […]