Coming Soon: MIDI From Space

Are you ready to receive MIDI signals from space?

If all goes well, a tiny "picosatellite" will soon be sending back "music" from space, in the form of MIDI signals.

The cost of sending a 200 gram package into low-earth orbit has dropped to $8,000, which puts it within the range of musicians and artists. 200 grams doesn't sound like a lot, but think about the computing power packed into an iPhone or even a portable game player.

Here's how Project Calliope describes their plan:

'Project Calliope' is a satellite being launched by a group of space & music enthusiasts on the "TubeSat" platform (http://tinyurl.com/skycall). It'll be an ionospheric detector transmitting sonifiable data back to Earth for web streaming and remixing. Conceptually, it's a musical instrument in space, played by space rather than just after-the-fact sonified. We like the idea of flying something in space whose purpose is to make music until it dies-- music from science.

The "sonifiable data" will be in MIDI form. The project plans to use sensors, made by Canadian company I-CubeX, that output MIDI. The project has not said how people will be able to receive the MIDI data yet.

Links for more info are provided below.

If you could get MIDI data from space, what would you do with it?

Links:

• Project Calliope
• I-CubeX
• 200 Grams at Scientific Blogging
• TubeSat Personal Satellites

James Lewin
Twitter @podcasting_news

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