Technology CubeSat Hitch-Hiker on Today's HTV launch
Hello
reader!
It follows
an article published day (08/20), in the website www.spacedaily.com, noting that Technology CubeSat hitch-hiker on
today's HTV launch.
Duda
Falcão
MICROSAT
BLITZ
Technology
CubeSat Hitch-Hiker
on Today's HTV Launch
By
Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Aug 20, 2015
Led
by Gomspace in Denmark, GOMX-3 is a 3-unit CubeSat mission to
demonstrate
aircraft ADS-B signal reception and geostationary
telecommunication satellite
spot beam signal quality using an L-band
reconfigurable software defined radio
payload. A miniaturised high data
rate X-band transmitter developed by Syrlinks
and funded by the
French space agency CNES will also be flown as a third party
payload.
The satellite is planned to be deployed from the International Space
Station in late 2015 by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen.
Image courtesy ESA. For
a larger version of this image please go here.
|
Today's
HTV supply launch from Japan to the International Space Station also marks the
arrival in orbit of one of ESA's smallest missions yet - a CubeSat which will
test miniaturised technologies for space, set to be followed by many more in
coming years.
Aboard
this nanosatellite is a pair of innovative receivers, one to track aircraft
traffic and the other to monitor radio spot beams from telecom satellites up in
geostationary orbit, along with complete miniaturised guidance, navigation and
control and communication systems.
Called
GomX-3, the CubeSat is riding to orbit inside the HTV spacecraft inside a
dispenser pod shared with a second student-built CubeSat, named AAUSat-5. The
two satellites will then be deployed together into space in the first half of
September, with the involvement of Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, both
CubeSats originating from Denmark.
CubeSats
are based on modular 10 x 10 x 10 cm units, which can be stacked together as
their mission goals require. Because they are small and standardised, they are
quicker to manufacture and cheaper to launch than regular satellite missions.
"For
ESA, CubeSats represent affordable means of demonstrating new space
technologies in orbit, as well as an important driver of miniaturisation in
their own right," explains Roger Walker, overseeing ESA's technology
CubeSats.
"GomX-3
is ESA's very first CubeSat to be supported through the In-Orbit Demonstration
element of ESA's General Support Technology Programme, a long-running
initiative to ready promising new technologies for space and the commercial
market."
GomX-3
has been developed for ESA by GomSpace in Aalborg, Denmark, which is one of
Europe's main CubeSat manufacturers. A 'three-unit' CubeSat, it measures 10 x
10 x 30 cm with an approximate mass of 3 kg.
Despite
its small size, GomX-3 is crammed with innovative technologies. A
reconfigurable software-defined radio receiver will intercept L-band spot beams
from telecom satellites in geostationary orbit, to provide independent
measurements of their signal strength and quality. This receiver can also be
repurposed to receive any other L-band signal, such as navigation satellite
signals or radar beams.
A second
receiver will pick up Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B)
signals automatically broadcast by civilian aircraft, to build up an overview
of regional air traffic.
This
unit is an improved version of a receiver previously flown by GomSpace on a
previous CubeSat, GomX-1.
The
CubeSat is also fully controllable in terms of pointing accuracy, with a
compact three-axis control system for based on infrared horizon sensors and a
quartet of miniaturised reaction wheels.
An
X-band radio transmitter will enable a significant boost in the amount of
payload data the mission can transmit to the ground, despite its small size.
Developed
by Syrlinks in France for French space agency CNES, this is a miniature version
of the unit previously flown on ESA's Proba-V technology demonstration
satellite. CNES is providing its X-band ground station in Kourou, French
Guiana, for demonstrating the link.
"GomX-3
is notable for its fast schedule," adds Roger. "Mission development
was completed in one year, from contract kick-off to delivery of the flight
model. The satellite underwent extensive testing at ESA's ESTEC technical
centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands."
Following
its September deployment via Japan's Kibo module - along with the smaller
single-CubeSat AAUSat-5 - GomX-3 will undergo a one-month commissioning period,
followed by a minimum six-month technology demonstration mission.
Fonte: Site http://www.spacedaily.com
Comentário: Creio que este interessante artigo seja do
interesse dos grupos brasileiros que trabalham na área de cubesats.
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