Computer scientist tracks satellites with automated observatory built from off-the-shelf technology

Allen Schnibben's interest in space started when he was a child. "I picked up some books about the solar system when I was in elementary school. In middle school, I got a telescope and I started observing the night sky as a hobby," said Schnibben, a computer scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. "My entire life, I've had an interest in space. " Now, Schnibben collects data on satellites at Sandia's SOHBRIT facility, a 12-foot-wide (3. 7-meter-wide) observatory.