Is SkyCache free Starlink / satellite internet?

No. SkyCache is receive-only store-and-forward. It caches public free-to-air signals and offline education packs for a local WiFi portal. It does not provide bidirectional broadband or decrypt commercial services.

What hardware do I need?

A starter kit is roughly $90-200: RTL-SDR, a small single-board computer or used laptop, storage, and a simple antenna. Solar is optional for first demos.

SkyCache only targets unencrypted free-to-air or openly licensed content. Operators must check national spectrum and WiFi hotspot rules. Never use it to access paid encrypted constellations.

Can I try it without a satellite?

Yes. Simulation mode loads sample packages so teachers and NGOs can evaluate the portal with zero RF hardware.

Library Ops | dual-access catalog | v1.35.0

LibrarySkybrary open catalog

Browse curated public-domain and open educational works, including multilingual waves, STEM and civics primers, and educational health/emergency literacy samples (not medical advice). Search and filter by language, subject, and license. Download starter kits and clinic USB packs with full license passports. The same work IDs run offline on a SkyCache village node.

Honest scope: open heritage subset only - not a complete archive of every text ever written. Not free commercial satellite broadband. Public domain / open / authorized content only.

Mission

Protect the future of humanity by building the Sky Library - resilient, open, catastrophe-aware distribution of written knowledge. Online for those who can reach the web. Offline for schools, clinics, villages, and disaster zones via SkyCache nodes and USB mules.

Online

This portal: browse/search, license passports, starter kit downloads.

Offline

Same works on a Pi-class node: FTS5 search, PWA reader, USB packs.

Operator

skybrary pack and legal Gutenberg catalog import.

Starter Trio + verify

Three downloadable open kits with SHA-256 integrity seals (JSON + optional ASCENT-D binary). Not a complete archive. Health samples are educational only (not medical advice). Not free commercial broadband.

Literacy starter - open PD literacy/civics demo pack
Emergency + health - clinic/disaster educational USB profile
Health priority - health-education-first kit

PowerShell: (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 -Path .\skycache-pack-literacy-starter.zip).Hash.ToLower() - match root_sha256 in the seal JSON.

Browse works

Mobile-first catalog. Open any work for passport detail and offline CLI hints.

Loading Skybrary catalog...

Pack profiles

Size-bounded USB/mesh kits. Emergency and health always preferred under disk pressure.

literacy-100mb≤ 100 MB

Foundational literacy + civics + health education (small kit)

Subjects: literacy, literature_pd, civics, health_edu

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile literacy-100mb

literacy-1gb≤ 1 GB

Village literacy + open science basics (~1 GB budget)

Subjects: literacy, literature_pd, history_pd, health_edu, science, civics

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile literacy-1gb

health-priority≤ 200 MB

Health education open materials first

Subjects: health_edu, medicine, health

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile health-priority

emergency-health≤ 500 MB

Emergency + health kits first (clinic / disaster USB)

Subjects: emergency, health, health_edu, medicine, safety, water

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile emergency-health

stem-lite≤ 256 MB

Lightweight STEM + practical science (~256 MB)

Subjects: science, stem, math, technology, agriculture, health_edu, weather

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile stem-lite

stem-2gb≤ 2 GB

School STEM curriculum kit (~2 GB budget)

Subjects: science, stem, math, technology, agriculture, health_edu, weather, engineering, environment

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile stem-2gb

local-heritage≤ 512 MB

Local heritage / operator-authored open materials (~512 MB)

Subjects: heritage, local_history, literature_pd, history_pd, civics, culture, operator_authored

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile local-heritage

all-open-small≤ 50 MB

Everything indexed under 50 MB (demo); emergency/health first

Subjects: all open works in budget

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile all-open-small

maps-offline≤ 512 MB

Offline maps kit (OSM extracts / MBTiles where license OK) ~512 MB

Subjects: maps, geography, osm, mbtiles, local_maps

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile maps-offline

archive-100mb≤ 100 MB

All open works under ~100 MB budget (survival classes first)

Subjects: all open works in budget

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile archive-100mb

archive-1gb≤ 1 GB

Village archive kit under ~1 GB (open/PD only)

Subjects: all open works in budget

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile archive-1gb

literacy-starter≤ 8 MB

Small dual-access literacy starter (~8 MB) for online download + USB demos

Subjects: literacy, literature_pd, civics, history_pd, fable, heritage

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile literacy-starter

multilingual-literacy≤ 32 MB

Multilingual curated PD literacy kit (~32 MB): fr/es/it/de/pt + sw/ar/hi/ja/yo/bn samples when present. Not a complete archive.

Subjects: multilingual, literacy, literature_pd, heritage, fable, poetry

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile multilingual-literacy

language-xx≤ 256 MB

Dynamic language kit: use language-en, language-sw, ... (skycache skybrary pack --profile language-sw)

Subjects: all open works in budget

python -m skycache skybrary pack --profile language-xx