Emergency Communication Satellite Launches in June 2025

In Project phase 1, we proposed the investigation and prototyping of a humanitarian low-cost open source satellite based communication system to mitigate the impacts of global catastrophes and satisfy UN Early Warning System goals for poor countries facing natural disasters. The design would also serve to help All-Fed to distribute information in a global catastrophe, via The Archive project.

This satellite is capable of broadcasting emergency information directly to cell phones globally (no cell plan required) in L-band (via LTE MBMS), via LoRA, and Bluetooth Low Energy, as well as to radios on more traditional VHF/UHF channels. We are working on a partnership to include ability to broadcast over GPS signals to all capable GPS devices as well.

The design also has a distributed AI emergency dispatcher concept which uses a locally run LLM with map and weather details that can answer questions about safe exit routes and meeting points - and we are working on an open source inexpensive ground station design. This is currently in prototype.

Our initial prototype satellite is slated to be launched in June 2025 on SpaceX Transporter 14.

As of the end of February, we have a complete satellite. Next it will be sent to the shaking machine in mid-March. As long as nothing falls off, it will be ready for integration into the deployer and then the launch vehicle in April. (Special thanks to our launch broker SEOPS)

The image you see above is our custom redundant satellite bus for the test satellite - the production version of the cad design below.

In addition to our team testing the satellite we have made a small grant to MakeShift to provide students and makers the equipment (located on top of Turbine Flats innovation community) to help test and monitor the satellite, and display it to young people at their Maker Fair using SatNOGS and other tools.

We also participated in grantee AI Objective Institute's Supply Chain Observatory and it's extreme weather hackathon.

This initiative is part of our AI and Critical Infrastructure project.

Read in detail about the satellite project (Donors only).