CubeSat Demo Model

Building the Future of Earth Observation: EOView's Journey from Prototype to Orbit

Prototyping is more than just a technical step—it is the bridge between vision and reality. For startups and mission-driven teams, a well-crafted prototype is the key to demonstrating value, attracting investment, and building credibility. At Open Orbit, our journey began with a simple but powerful goal: to provide a continuous, high-quality livestream of Earth from orbit, overcoming the limitations of current solutions.

Why Prototyping Matters

A prototype is your product's first handshake with the world. It tells your story, showcases your mission, and proves your technical capability. For EOView, developing a functional demo was essential to show investors and potential collaborators not just what we plan to do, but what we can do right now.

The EOView Demo Model: Livestreaming Earth, One Pi at a Time

Our prototype is a compact, functional model designed to livestream directly to YouTube using a Raspberry Pi. The structure draws inspiration from the OreSat platform, but with simplified characteristics to accelerate development and testing. Fabricated using CNC milling at the EMEC, the demo's robust frame houses all the critical components needed for a real-world demonstration.

• Arducam: Provides high-quality video capture.
• Buck Converter: Ensures stable power delivery.
• LiPo Batteries: Portable, reliable energy source.
• Raspberry Pi: The heart of the system, running FFmpeg and interfacing with the YouTube Data API for seamless streaming.
• Software Stack: FFmpeg encodes and streams video, while the YouTube Data API handles authentication and stream management.

Once powered on, the Raspberry Pi initiates a direct livestream to YouTube, offering a tangible preview of what our orbital platform will deliver.

The Mission: Continuous Earth Livestream from Orbit

Our vision extends far beyond the lab. EOView's ultimate goal is to build and launch a 2U Earth observation satellite capable of providing a persistent livestream of our planet from orbit. This mission addresses a clear gap: while the International Space Station (ISS) currently offers a livestream from low Earth orbit, it suffers from frequent outages, poor camera framing, and even pixel data corruption.

Looking Ahead

The journey from prototype to orbit is challenging, but with each milestone, EOView moves closer to delivering a new era of Earth observation—one where anyone, anywhere, can witness our planet in real time.