BroadlandAstro

Getting Stripe payment integration wired up and finalising the product catalogue for SpacePictures.co.uk. Starting with premium poster prints of the Orion Mosaic in various sizes, with more artwork and product types to follow. Once payments are live, the shop is open for business.

Both shop websites are built and functional but checkout isn't live yet. SpacePictures will sell prints and products; SpacePix will handle premium wall art like acrylic, metal, and vinyl prints. Currently setting up Stripe integration and finalising the product catalogues and pricing.

Building NOVA (Networked Omniscient Virtual Assistant), a multi-user AI assistant platform running on my home server. Python/FastAPI backend with Ollama for local LLM inference, encrypted per-user data vaults, and a vanilla JS frontend. Accessible at nova-i.net. Still in active development with features like memory systems, pluggable modules, and guest access.

ImagingSpace.co.uk development is paused while I focus on getting BroadlandAstro, SpacePictures, and SpacePix up and running properly. The vision hasn't changed, it's just a matter of priorities. Background: Imaging Space ? Vision.

The site is up and running on the home server, though it goes offline occasionally when I'm working on things or the server isn't left running. Positive feedback from friends and family so far, which is encouraging. Unfortunately the shop websites didn't make it live for selling yet — a combination of not understanding Stripe at all and family commitments meant it slipped. Print partner is all lined up and ready to go though, so it's just the payments side to crack.

Ongoing development of the initial phases, building basic website, building contributor directory, figuring out submission flow, site mechanics etc. Background: Imaging Space ? Vision.

Aiming for November. Prints/products on SpacePictures; installs/commissions on SpacePix. Will open with just my images available to start with. Hopefully in time for potential Christmas present purchases... Try and get a calendar together for 2026

Aiming for October. A stable personal website for background, updates and galleries. Need to get Broadland Digital involved to help me set up the "shop" that is SpacePictures.co.uk and talk to them about print fulfillment (POD).

Mid-2025 I switched broadband provider to Andrews and Arnold which gives me the opportunity to try hosting the websites myself at home. Figured the site won't have heavy traffic and I have a PC spare that's capable enough to start off with. Started setting up the server and getting everything ready to deploy the sites myself.

New framework/pitch finally clicked for Imaging Space, so I started moving forward again. Did a bit more reading and coding got much easier with ChatGPT-5. I?d already built an offline AI chat tool with ChatGPT-4; but 5 made it a lot easier to start building the websites properly.

I didn?t have any website hosting sorted yet, so I paused launching BroadlandAstro.com and halted development across the Imaging Space websites while JWST and Rubin dominated the headlines. I had to figure out how to position amateur work alongside the spectacular images dominating the "space news". Frankly I pretty much gave up on the idea? ?who?s gonna wanna see amateur images now??

I wrote this as a piece to submit to astro magazines to promote Kubuntu as part of the media team. Never got round to submitting it though, due to not being happy with it. I?m not a writer and don?t just want to cheat by getting AI to write it for me, so it?s still pretty rough. ChatGPT definitely helped get this website off the ground by helping me with the coding, but I don?t want to use it to write ?copy? for me. Spell checking etc. is fine, but full-on passing its work off as my own? that feels like cheating to me.

I use Kubuntu (Linux) as the OS for my PC, mainly because I?m sick of all the data Microsoft/Apple et al. collect about everything we do. In March 2024 I spotted Kubuntu?s wallpaper competition, submitted one of my nebula images, and won. My Cone Nebula image is now distributed with every copy of Kubuntu as a bundled desktop wallpaper. I was also invited to join the media team but was totally out of my depth as I?m an end user and knew nothing about software development, then life took a little dip and I put that ? and thoughts about my website ? on the back burner for a bit.

Sketched out the ecosystem: a contributor hub (Imaging Space), a shop (SpacePictures.co.uk), and an installs/commissions/outreach site (SpacePix.art). Registered domains and began early dev.

I'd done a bit of reading and ChatGPT could help me with basic HTML coding so I created first layouts, a gallery pipeline, and site structure. Lots of copy/navigation iteration to find something that worked.

I was tired of the noise of social media, didn?t like the way Etsy and the like were run and I wanted a personal site where I could keep things simple, own the presentation, and write in my own voice. I didn?t want to use Wix etc., didn?t know anything about web development and certainly couldn?t afford to pay a developer, so it stayed an idea ? but I did buy the domain and started doing some reading. Side note: I originally intended BroadlandAstro.com to be my only website.

Learning the craft, building observatories, upgrading bits of kit, and just getting out under clear skies when I could.