Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
try's enemies. Since most space technology could be used for military
purposes, pretty much all space technology is classified under ITAR.
This means you can't just share your rocket design with a friend in
Europe or even post the design online, because that is considered ex-
porting. You have to fill out the appropriate paperwork and manage a
maze of federal regulations—probably more than you want to deal with
for a small open source hardware project. So, if all of your project
members are U.S. citizens (or none of them are), congratulations, you
just made your life much easier!
There are two exceptions: public domain and fundamental research.
First, anything that has been made publicly available in the public do-
main can be shared freely. The second exception is, in my opinion,
more interesting because it enables the sharing of newer technology.
Fundamental research (also called basic research) provides universities
with the opportunity to publish and promote their work around the
world. This is why the design for CubeSats have been made publicly
available for more than a decade: They were designed at Stanford
University. This exception is limited to projects associated with uni-
versities, however, and does not apply to personal or commercial pro-
jects.
Summary
This chapter asked you to consider both formal and informal standards, as well as existing
and emerging standards within hardware and software. You now have a framework to think
about how existing standards might help or hinder your users and how future standards
should be considered to make open source hardware as strong as possible. Many standards
deal with interfacing one platform to the next, be it software to hardware, hardware to hard-
ware, or hardware to human. As an open source hardware developer, you're tasked with
creating these interfaces as openly, transparently, and accessibly as possible.
