16/07/2021
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15 July 2021 marks a big milestone in the tale of pupil satellite LEDSAT. Four learners from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, have travelled to Brno in Czech Republic, and are checking out the integration facility of SAB LS. The mission: set up their miniature satellite into its CubeSat dispenser in preparation for start just a handful of weeks from now!
LEDSAT is a CubeSat made fully by learners as element of ESA Academy and ESA Education Office’s Fly Your Satellite! programme, with assistance from the Italian House Agency (ASI) in just the IKUNS Programme together with Michigan University, which aided in conceiving and finding out the CubeSat. Its exterior characteristics very small LED lights that will flash when in Earth’s shadow, allowing ground stations to confirm how the satellite is oriented in area. If successful, this engineering could be rolled out to several more satellites, furnishing a beneficial strategy of staying away from collisions in orbit.
The LEDSAT team, with aid from ESA professionals, have had a extensive journey to achieve this point. Most a short while ago they enjoyed great achievements with their Flight Acceptance Overview. This was a main hurdle to get over but the college students and their satellite fulfilled all essential conditions and so been given their “ticket to orbit”, propelling them to this current stage.
The main aim of the students now visiting the facility in Brno is to put in LEDSAT into its dispenser. This is a common device built to deploy CubeSats in orbit. The moment a CubeSat is set up, the dispenser can be “piggybacked” onto a rocket that will launch it into space. All through acquire-off, the dispenser functions as a significant-tech shipping container, guarding its compact and treasured cargo all through the intense circumstances skilled through start and the subsequent journey into orbit.
This is the students’ last prospect to get hands-on with LEDSAT ahead of its start into room, so they are getting the chance to carry out a collection of last-moment checks. In particular, the students are checking that LEDSAT’s battery is thoroughly recharged. They are also guaranteeing the satellite is perfectly clean, to stay away from contaminating the other hardware that will be sharing its experience into room.
“It’s awesome to see all these decades of work turning into a space-prepared satellite and how in just handful of months we’ll commence to see the benefits from orbit. Godspeed LEDSAT!” – Andrea Gianfermo
Upon completion of the students’ do the job in Brno, LEDSAT, in its CubeSat dispenser, will be transported to the European spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. In late July it will be loaded onto a launcher, along with other CubeSats hitching a raise. The college students will not be saved in suspense for long, as take-off is scheduled for later this summer time.
Continue to be tuned for further updates!