# I'm trying to make a Reticulum communications cubesat constellation and I need your guys help brainstorming idea. _General · started by sko on Fri, Jul 10, 2026 4:26 PM_ Tags: Question, Discussion, LoRa, RNode, Help --- ## Original post **sko** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 4:26 PM So my main problem is whether using LoRa is even feasibility for LEO or should I use another Hardware, but I feel that even if LoRa has a low bit rate is more usable for the avg person. --- ## Reply 1 **welo** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 5:13 PM Depends on what constraints you want to fulfill, if you okay with 1-2km range and around 10kb/s per second, then you might get away with very low spreading factor LoRa. --- ## Reply 2 **sko** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 5:45 PM **welo** wrote: > Depends on what constraints you want to fulfill, if you okay with 1-2km range and around 10kb/s per second, then you might get away with very low spreading factor LoRa all that would like a is basic RRC for emergencies warning and bbs. --- ## Reply 3 **welo** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 6:38 PM **sko** wrote: > all that would like a is basic RRC for emergencies warning and bbs. *edited cause I misunderstood the original question* Maybe theoretically possible, I reckon getting a lora signal from a space might be possible with a powerful enough transmitter in the sky, but you would be filling up the lora spectrum for a sizeable percentage of the surface area of earth, which if it isn't explicitly illegal in a bunch of places, it would become so if you actually went ahead and did this. Also you would have to use plain or announcement packets for this to reach everyone at once and there's not much that really supports either. --- ## Reply 4 **Anonymous** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 6:42 PM Low earth orbit? Not sure what you'd use there but presumably whatever you normally use could be hooked up to Reticulum --- ## Reply 5 **sko** · Fri, Jul 10, 2026 9:16 PM **welo** wrote: > **sko** wrote: > > all that would like a is basic RRC for emergencies warning and bbs. > > *edited cause I misunderstood the original question* > > Maybe theoretically possible, I reckon getting a lora signal from a space might be possible with a powerful enough transmitter in the sky, but you would be filling up the lora spectrum for a sizeable percentage of the surface area of earth, which if it isn't explicitly illegal in a bunch of places, it would become so if you actually went ahead and did this. > > Also you would have to use plain or announcement packets for this to reach everyone at once and there's not much that really supports either. I would be using announcement packets but since your brought the point about the fulling out the LoRa spectrum would it be more realist if a would make it a relay emitter. and I'm sry for asking dumb question. --- ## Reply 6 **Zenith** · Sat, Jul 11, 2026 1:50 AM There are a number of LoRa radios on CubeSats and other deployments already that send out telemetry that can be received from the ground. Look into the TinyGS project https://tinygs.com/ It uses the Heltec V3 converted into a ground station with custom firmware. https://tinygs.com/tutorials/tinygs_bom/ https://app.tinygs.com/ If you were an institution like a university, it's not that cost prohibitive to get one up there. . I think the quote for a pico-satellite payload doing a rideshare (which is what most of the newer launches do) is somewhere around $25k USD per kg. A picosat is the launch payload class of 0.01 to 1 kgs. A fun idea to think about. The problem though is the scale and convergence, you'd need quite a few up there to get contionus coverage. Not that big a deal with Reticulum though since a lot of things happen asynchronously and are built around store and forward like LXMF. If I had the money I know what I would be doing lol. Oh yeah, also below 400 km the lifespan of a picosat class satellite is only around 2 years. Basically once they are up the timer starts on their lifespan. Satellites apart of the Starlink V2 constellation at 600 km have a lifespan of about 5 years. They are constantly re-entering earth --- ## Reply 7 **cobalt32** · Sat, Jul 11, 2026 2:31 AM I wonder how big of a solar sail would be needed to keep a 1kg cubesat in a perpetual 400km orbit... --- ## Reply 8 **Anonymous** · Sat, Jul 11, 2026 10:17 AM **cobalt32** wrote: > I wonder how big of a solar sail would be needed to keep a 1kg cubesat in a perpetual 400km orbit... The drag created by the solar sail would far outweigh the solar push. --- ## Reply 9 **Sko** · Wed, Jul 15, 2026 9:10 AM **Zenith** wrote: > There are a number of LoRa radios on CubeSats and other deployments already that send out telemetry that can be received from the ground. Look into the TinyGS project https://tinygs.com/ > > It uses the Heltec V3 converted into a ground station with custom firmware. https://tinygs.com/tutorials/tinygs_bom/ > > https://app.tinygs.com/ > > If you were an institution like a university, it's not that cost prohibitive to get one up there. . I think the quote for a pico-satellite payload doing a rideshare (which is what most of the newer launches do) is somewhere around $25k USD per kg. A picosat is the launch payload class of 0.01 to 1 kgs. > > A fun idea to think about. The problem though is the scale and convergence, you'd need quite a few up there to get contionus coverage. Not that big a deal with Reticulum though since a lot of things happen asynchronously and are built around store and forward like LXMF. > > If I had the money I know what I would be doing lol. > > Oh yeah, also below 400 km the lifespan of a picosat class satellite is only around 2 years. Basically once they are up the timer starts on their lifespan. > > Satellites apart of the Starlink V2 constellation at 600 km have a lifespan of about 5 years. They are constantly re-entering earth hey would it be possible for you to get in call/dm and talk more about this. because at the moment me and are make a using High-altitude balloons for test and if it goes well the government hopeful give us some money. --- ## Reply 10 **aetherlab** · Wed, Jul 15, 2026 9:11 AM Government? You wanna involve government into a Reticulum project? Really?! --- ## Reply 11 **sko** · Wed, Jul 15, 2026 9:23 AM **aetherlab** wrote: > Government? You wanna involve government into a Reticulum project? Really?! yeah it fine, it just a Government grant I really don't see the issue. it either government money or private money, and where I live they both come from the same sources --- ## Reply 12 **aetherlab** · Wed, Jul 15, 2026 9:44 AM Well, so it's all fine and dandy on your side! ---