The time has come for a brand new update! We would like to announce that a new upgrade is available for the SatNOGS Client software. You are advised to check the SatNOGS Client Setup wiki page to find out more about how to upgrade and configure your station.
A few words on the new update
You will find that in the new version, Ansible has been updated to include all the latest stable SatNOGS Client, Radio and Setup Software. This new version sees a major shift towards new technologies and new architecture.
One of the most significant changes that this new release delivers is gr-soapy and the transition from the OsmoSDR library to the SoapySDR Library. This inclusion brings forth numerous performance improvements and expands support to include new, upcoming software-defined radio devices. As far as gr-soapy is concerned, it is a sub-activity of SDR Makerspace; an initiative brought on by ESA and Libre Space Foundation. The aim of this initiative is to develop several open-source, Software Defined Radio projects to enable, facilitate and support satellite communications. The latest SatNOGS update delivers to you this technology.
What is more, this new release comes with more sensitive decoders allowing a wider range of data to be collected by the network. With each satellite pass, more valuable data is collected, enhancing observation results. Note that contributions have been made easier as the GNU Radio flowgraphs have been removed from gr-satnogs and have been granted a separate, dedicated repository satnogs-flowgraphs. Lastly, satnogs-config, the SatNOGS client configuration utility, has been rewritten in Python allowing for rapid development of new configuration features.
SatNOGS
SatNOGS constitutes an amazing open-sourced project comprised of a global network of satellite ground stations. It is a participatory project which allows for satellite information and data to be available to any observer and enthusiast. Not only can individuals utilize all available ground stations, as they have free access to those, but they can even communicate with the satellites. The data and the results of the observations carried out are distributed freely.
This aligns with our values as they are expressed in detail, in the Libre Space Manifesto. We firmly believe in the power of information and how it can drastically contribute to allowing humanity to explore new horizons. Free access to information can help develop and use knowledge differently, and even thrive in different ways while overall changing life for the better. For this, we work hard towards expanding the network of ground stations as well as providing updates (like the one we released) for the SatNOGS software. We wish this project to run on the most up-to-date technology and architecture, offering improvements and making observations more accurate and efficient.
The latest update facilitates improvements in performance, technology, and architecture for a network of 200+ fully operational ground stations and 100+ in testing mode. These have delivered over 1.900.000 observations (and counting), from 400+ satellites and 880+ transmitters and over 64.800.000 data frames. With the latest release, we aim at improving this whole network of free information and knowledge and making it more accurate for the observer.
Interested in joining this project?
If you found what you read interesting and you are fascinated by space you can join us in this inspirational project. You are welcome to be part of this global network of enthusiasts and observers and you can even build your own ground station. Visit the Get Started page and get all the information you need and all the steps you need to take to be part of our Community. An easy way to get started is to build your own omnidirectional station by following the steps found on the How-to Page. We would love to welcome you to our project and to our community!
