German Hackers Are Building a DIY Space Program to Put Their Own Uncensored Internet into Space

[Seedersandleechers]

Syncom 1, the First Geosynchronous Satellite What NASA could do in the 1960s, we can do now. At least, that's the line of thought underpinning the Hackerspace Global Grid, a project that aims to build a space-based network of communications satellites that would freely provide uncensored Internet to users on the ground, taking the power of censorship out of the hands of governments. NASA

There’s more than one way to stick it to The Man. There’s civil disobedience, subversive propaganda, political art, outright violent revolt--each possessing its own degree of difficulty and consequence. In a decidedly 21st-century twist, team of German hackers bent on fighting the powers that be has chosen a rather ambitious means of taking the power back: building a hacker-owned and -operated space program, complete with a constellation of communications satellites beaming uncensored Internet to users on the ground.

The Hackerspace Global Grid was borne out of a call to action at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, where hackers of all stripes gather to mull the issues of the day as they relate to their craft. Hacker activist Nick Farr--motivated by legislation like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S.--called on the community to contribute to a project that would remove the power of censorship from governments and corporations by creating an uncensored Internet in the free frontier of space.


http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-01/german-hackers-are-building-diy-space-program-put-their-own-uncensored-internet-space

[Magoo48]

1. Let's hope it becomes so....

Sadly, today governments can shoot down satellites they don't like. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.....peace

[leftyohiolib]

2. oops was that YOUR sattelite, oh our bad but hey mistakes were made. we'll conduct a full

investigation put together a commission etc.

[SlimJimmy]

4. That's what I was thinking. Ooops, our bad. We'll definitely look into that.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Seedersandleechers.

[SomethingFishy]

5. They should call John Carmack...

Afte working on the last Doom engine game designer John Carmack went to work designing rockets.

[ddeclue]

6. How do they plan to build these satellites? Launch them? Who is going to allow them to launch?

I've worked for companies that build and launch satellites (Orbital and McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company which is now a Boeing entity).

Even cheap satellites cost hundreds of millions of dollars to design, build, test and launch and require extensive specialized "clean room" facilities, access to space grade (military grade isn't good enough) electronics which is export controlled in the USA by the government, and electrical, mechanical, thermal, RF and aerospace engineering and fabrication expertise that is exceedingly hard to find - especially for free.

Then there is the launch vehicle - even harder to come by than building the satellite.

Which government is going to allow this satellite to launch and how will the hackers pay for it? What happens if the launch doesn't go off well? Satellites fail to deploy and rockets crash even up to the current day and when your satellite goes into the drink it can be a half a billion dollar write off. Are they going to insure the launch through Lloyds?

There are only about 3 companies in the US that are capable of building the satellite and three launch vehicle manufacturers in the US that are capable of launching it. World wide there are probably less than 2 dozen private companies and only a handful of governments capable of building and launching satellites with any success. This is not something you do in your garage.

What is to say that the U.S. gov't or the Chinese, Russian, English, Iranian, Syrian or other governments that would oppose this uncontrolled uncensored internet wouldn't seek to take the satellite or satellites down through an A-SAT missile attack on it or a particle weapon (hi energy laser in particular) used to damage it from the ground or from an aircraft platform flying in the stratosphere.

This sounds a lot more like a fantasy than reality to me.

[itsrobert]

7. They are HACKERS. The cheapest route is go and a hack satellites and take them over

Sort of like Captain Midnight in the 80's

But he got caught.

[DeathToTheOil]

8. Let the Germans Lead Us to FREEDOM!

Wait...