Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is sharing images and video of planet Earth taken by a commercial grade Raspberry Pi and camera.

They were on board a Demonstration of Technology satellite called DoT-1, launched on a Soyuz rocket in July 2019, and the images were captured from Low Earth Orbit.

You can clearly see the boot of Italy, and Sardinia and Corsica. The clarity of the images supplied by the Pi is encouraging SSTL to think of using a Pi in future to record ‘selfie’ status pictures of satellite equipment.

SSTL writes:
  Whist the primary objective of the 17.5kg self-funded DoT-1 satellite is to demonstrate SSTL’s new Core Data Handling System (Core-DHS), accommodation was made available for some additional experimental payloads including the Raspberry Pi camera experiment which was designed and implemented in conjunction with the Surrey Space Centre.
  
  After image capture using the camera, the data was stored on the Raspberry Pi computer and then downlinked to SSTL’s ground station in Guildford via the Core-DHS. The new Core-DHS is designed to provide the same level of functionality as SSTL’s heritage equivalent avionics stack, but with a significantly reduced mass and volume, and it consolidates the S-Band Transmitter and Receiver, Global Positioning System, Attitude & Orbit Control System, Interface Module and Bridge and On Board Computer into one module.

The images are described as the work of a “commercial grade” Raspberry Pi camera and computer – special ruggedised units have been used in space before.

  “I am delighted with the success of our new Core-DHS based avionics which, will give our customers the benefits of our heritage avionics stack but in a lower form factor to deliver improved power consumption and lower launch costs,” said Sarah Parker, Managing Director of SSTL.

  “The success of the Raspberry Pi camera experiment is an added bonus which we can now evaluate for future missions where it could be utilised for spacecraft ‘selfies’ to check the operation of key equipments, and also for outreach activities.”

The DoT-1 satellite is described as an SSTL-Micro platform and is also flying further experimental payloads as part of SSTL’s ongoing R&D programme.