The three young scientists Tal Pritzker, Daniel Golan, and Leonid Zacharin from the School of Engineering near Tel Aviv University, designed and developed a control and guidance system that enables photography of a larger satellite when the small satellite, the fruit of their planning and development, orbits it. The tiny satellite attaches to the larger satellite, monitors its function and enables early identification of faults
From the 50s until today, many satellites have been launched into space with the aim of performing various and diverse tasks. And as with many technological developments, there has recently been a trend towards miniaturization in the field of satellites, and we see more and more small satellites with great advantages and they excel in the simplicity of development, launch capabilities and above all in their low price.
The three young scientists Tal Pritzker, Daniel Golan, and Leonid Zacharin from the School of Engineering near Tel Aviv University, designed and developed a control and guidance system that enables photography of a larger satellite when the small satellite, the fruit of their planning and development, orbits it. The tiny satellite attaches to the larger satellite, monitors its function and enables early identification of faults. In addition, the tiny satellite helps to significantly extend the life of the large satellite. There is a great advantage in this fact since the live communication satellites and even an additional month will bring many millions to their owners. The price of the tiny satellite, developed by the three, is low compared to the cost of the large satellite.
The field of tiny satellites is picking up more and more speed lately, as more and more complex functions are required from these satellites, more accurate, faster and smaller control systems will be required.
The size of a small CubeSat type satellite is 10 cm³ and its weight is less than 1 kg, and like any satellite, it also has a direction control system. However, strict weight and energy limitations apply to the entire satellite, so this system must be carefully planned.
The interim results of their research show that the satellite can be controlled by a magnetic control system, using a standard dipole model and satellite data. Also, the whole system meets the necessary physical and computational criteria, and in particular the precision required for the satellite's function.
The work of Tal Pritzker, Daniel Golan and Unid Zacharin is competing in the Young Scientists in Israel 2006 competition, which is being held for the ninth time in a row at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem, in collaboration with the Intel company.
The competition aims to promote, develop and encourage creative and original thinking in the various sciences and technology among the youth in Israel. 45 works (applications, inventions and studies) of girls and teenagers from all over the country, in the fields of computers, social sciences, natural and life sciences, environmental sciences and spirituality, advanced to the final stage.
