Kit Buchan, The Guardian
Here's a tiny space satellite that you can build and launch yourself
Most of the thousand or so operational satellites in orbit are multi-million-dollar machines that provide major industries with scientific research, global positioning or military espionage. Twenty-five-year-old Tom Walkinshaw, however, hopes to prove that satellites are not the preserve of leviathan space agencies, and that, for a comparatively small sum ($20,000), the workaday enthusiast can build and launch a fully functioning satellite of their own. One year old next January, his company PocketQube Shop provides the basic materials for doing this, most importantly the PocketQube structure itself - a tiny, 5cm³ casing made from aerospace-grade aluminium – which houses each satellite's components.
"We want to remove as many barriers as we can for people who want to build satellites," says Walkinshaw, and the PocketQube structure is the key to this endeavour. Invented in America, it is smaller than its predecessor the Cubesat, a 10cm³ design which was formerly the best hope for those seeking a budget satellite. Walkinshaw's was the first company to recognise the PocketQube's potential and begin manufacturing it, and it also supplies a number of other components, with a view to becoming a centralised hub catering to all satellite-builders' needs. "We're going to produce a PocketQube kit with a structure, radio and on-board computer," pledges Walkinshaw, "and we just won a £63,000 from Scottish Enterprise to develop a combined powerboard and battery."
Walkinshaw has managed all this from his home town of Glasgow, a surprising focal point for the future of the global space industry, but a town that he claims is becoming a "hotbed of satellite technology". The firm has already shipped PocketQubes all over the world, and though most of the interest has come from universities, where they are used for student projects, the client base is nonetheless broad: one customer is an after-work club of American satellite engineers; another is a Taiwanese space agency.
The capabilities of the smartphone-sized structure are, according to Walkinshaw, "limited only by the imagination" – even in its tiniest form it can house the components that align, propel and power the satellite, and the slightly larger 5x5x10cm version can include additions such as star-tracking technology or cameras. Walkinshaw imagines hundreds of PocketQubes linking together in space and gathering a breadth of real-time data which bulky traditional satellites could never provide. The only real obstacle to this dream is getting them there in the first place.
"The launch situation for PocketQubes is probably the worst it will ever be," he says, explaining that there is only one company worldwide currently allowing Pocketqubes to hitch rides on their rockets.
Walkinshaw's answer to this is, perhaps, predictable. "We'd like to organise our own launches from Scotland," he says; an ambition that will require requisitioning some serious hardware. "The first PocketQubes were launched from a converted ICBM called the SS Satan. A vehicle for nukes repurposed for education - it's a nice story!"
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2014
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10 things you need to know about e-learning
Internet-based education offers everything from a free maths lecture to a full course on ancient Roman history. But it has its critics
1 "E-learning" is a very broad term
It refers to all internet-based education, which could be anything from a free maths lecture on iTunes to a colour-coded language app or even a fully interactive eight-week course in musculoskeletal anatomy from Harvard.
2 It's been around for a while
The Open University began using an internet-based conferencing system as a learning tool in the late 80s and now offers entire degree courses online. Since 2000 the web has been used by schools and universities as a means of distributing audiovisual material and course documentation.
3 It hasn't found its niche yet
Some argue that the internet works best as a subsidiary to traditional studies, so-called "blended learning", but others think the main thrust of e-learning should be to provide free education to disadvantaged people worldwide who don't have access to university. Detractors feel feel it has no place in mainstream education and should only offer "learning for learning's sake".
4 It comes in various shapes and sizes
The non-profit Khan Academy is a bank of free video lectures given by charismatic academics whereas popular software platforms such as Blackboard and Canvas allow teachers and students to connect more effectively online. Moocs (Massive Online Open Courses), which are free short online courses offered by reputable universities, are becoming immensely popular and often comprise multimedia material and interactive game-like environments.
5 Moocs are free, but they have potential to be lucrative
The biggest US Mooc network, Coursera, hosts courses from 100 universities worldwide, who hope the free courses will encourage people to sign up for paid modules.
6 The UK is already being "Mooced"
The British equivalent to Coursera, Futurelearn, now offers courses from more than half of the top 40 UK universities.
7 Not all e-learning is free
In a few universities Mooc certificates have been exchanged for actual college credit, which could become increasingly valuable in the job market. Full degree qualifications remain available only to the paying student.
8 e-learning could threaten teaching as we know it…
Mooc pioneer Peter Norvig argues it is easier to achieve a one-on-one teaching experience online than in a crowded classroom. Also, online forums and communities allow users to discuss problems in real time with fellow students stuck on the same issue.
9 … But not everyone thinks it's fulfilling its potential
Some critics believe that a computerised environment will stifle creative expression and independent thought. Others point out that, although Moocs might theoretically offer schooling to disadvantaged students, so far almost all participants in the courses are already highly educated and hail from the developed world.
10 Either way, e-learning's big data could be valuable
Millions of people have signed up to hundreds of apps, lectures, tests, platforms and courses and because every right answer and every flunked exam will be documented, a huge quantity of data will be collected. These "learning analytics" could be used to provide teachers with agreater insights into a deeper understanding of education as a whole.