ISS Tracker
By Andrew Gregory. Posted
Raspberry Pi is in the business of selling computers, so we really should be telling you to buy the latest and greatest, all-singing all-dancing models. However, this project uses older technology – over ten years old, in fact. Raspberry Pi 3 Model B was first introduced in February 2016. It seems like yesterday, but it was actually over a decade ago and this little machine has been given a new task keeping an eye on an even older piece of hardware: the International Space Station (ISS), which was launched at the back end of 1998.
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To give his old Raspberry Pi 3B a purpose, Filip put it to work tracking the ISS. He’s added a 3.5-inch Waveshare screen and impressively chunky toggle switch, and a case that’s mostly made of 3D printed PLA with a machined aluminium top plate. He painted the aluminium plate and applied water decals so it looks to our earthbound eyes pretty much like the real thing.
Last issue, we featured in these pages a device that uses the open data coming from the ISS to track the levels of sewage held in the space station’s tanks. Inwardly we shrink; it’s extremely silly (though fun) to turn toilet humour into a science project, but we did hope to see before long something a bit more serious. With this build, Filip has used the same source of open data combined with a couple of manufacturing techniques, an impressive eye for detail, and a computer that if it lived in France would be considered old enough to legally drink alcohol. It’s gorgeous and every home should have one.
Features Editor Andrew trawls the internet for Cool Stuff while keeping the magazine running smoothly.
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