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Icelandic Developer Hacks ESA’s OPS-SAT to Play Doom

11/1/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Ólafur Waage, an Icelandic developer, ported Doom to ESA's OPS-SAT by hacking its flight computer.
The OPS-SAT flight computer is significantly more powerful than current ESA spacecraft.
This port generates screenshots using OPS-SAT's on-board camera.
The team modified the camera to fit the game's 1993 graphics and replaced the sky with live Earth images.
OPS-SAT is described as a flying laboratory for innovative experiments, illustrating risk-taking in satellite missions.

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Story summary

Ólafur Waage, an Icelandic developer, ported Doom to ESA's OPS-SAT by hacking its flight computer.
The OPS-SAT flight computer is significantly more powerful than current ESA spacecraft.
This port generates screenshots using OPS-SAT's on-board camera.
The team modified the camera to fit the game's 1993 graphics and replaced the sky with live Earth images.
OPS-SAT is described as a flying laboratory for innovative experiments, illustrating risk-taking in satellite missions.