We believe the barrier to working with real spacecraft communications technology is too high. We're changing that — one kit at a time.
In 2018, Planet Labs did something remarkable — they open-sourced the radio design from their Dove Earth-imaging satellite constellation. The Dove Low-Speed Transceiver (LST) had by that point accumulated over 200 cumulative years of on-orbit data across more than 150 satellites, making it one of the most extensively operated small satellite radio designs ever built.
The OpenLST project gave the world the complete hardware design, firmware source, and documentation — not a simplified version, not an educational abstraction, but the actual open-source design that informed real spacecraft work. We built the SpaceCommsKit Explorer Kit on that foundation.
Experimental Development Kit
The SpaceCommsKit Explorer Kit is based on the open-source OpenLST design with modern component substitutions. It is an experimental development and research tool — not a certified flight unit. The board shares approximately 85% of the original circuit architecture and is designed for lab research, education, and ground-based RF development.
The OpenLST project is extraordinary — but working with it requires a Linux build environment, Python tools, and a considerable amount of embedded systems knowledge just to get started. For engineers and researchers who want to focus on their application rather than the toolchain, the barrier is real.
The SpaceCommsKit Explorer Kit packages the OpenLST hardware with a complete Windows ground station application, comprehensive documentation, and everything wired up and ready to go — so you can spend your time on your project, not on infrastructure.
Uptime, RSSI, LQI, ADC readings — live, every 5 seconds.
AES-signed, page-verified, over RF. No physical access.
JPEG capture over RF pipeline. Image transferred in chunks. Perfect image quality confirmed.
Extensible opcode system for CC1110 and Pico. Add your own sensors and payloads.
This project builds on the extraordinary work of the Planet Labs team who designed and open-sourced the OpenLST radio system. Special thanks to Henry Hallam, Alex Ray, Rob Zimmerman, Matt Peddie, Bryan Klofas, Ryan Kingsbury, and the full Planet Labs engineering team.
Small batch, high quality. Every board gets individual attention before it ships.
Every board is hand-assembled in Tennessee, USA. Not overseas, not outsourced.
Components sourced exclusively from Digi-Key, Mouser, or manufacturer direct. No clone chips, no gray market parts.
Every board is powered up and tested for RF operation before it leaves the bench.
Board stands are designed and printed in-house with the OpenLST logo embossed. Made to fit the board perfectly.
The Explorer Kit is designed and characterized for terrestrial RF communications. Researchers interested in LEO satellite applications should understand the link budget and antenna requirements.
At 915MHz with +27dBm TX power, the Explorer Kit provides comfortable link margin to a 400–550km LEO satellite at elevation angles above approximately 15° using a directional antenna. A 7–10 dBi yagi is recommended for satellite work. For low elevation passes, reducing data rate to 1.2–9.6 kbaud significantly improves link margin.
This approach mirrors how Planet Labs operated the original OpenLST design on their Dove constellation — the same RF architecture, tuned for the geometry of an orbital pass. Ground stations focused on overhead passes where link margin is strongest, using directional antennas for improved performance. At 915MHz the Doppler shift of ±2.8 kHz at LEO velocities should also be accounted for in receiver bandwidth selection.
The OpenLST Explorer Kit is an experimental development and research platform — not a certified flight unit. It is well-suited for ground-based RF research, balloon payloads, UAV communications, and educational satellite ground station development. For actual satellite integration additional engineering and regulatory work is required.
Questions about the kit, volume pricing, university licensing, or custom configurations — we're happy to talk.
Ships to United States only · Tennessee, USA