Technion researchers plan to launch into space a structure of three nanosatellites

Undergraduate and graduate students will play practical roles in testing various aspects related to the task and developing the system; The project will be unveiled on January 30, 2012 as part of the Ilan Ramon International Space Convention of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute and will be presented to representatives of space agencies and space researchers from all over the world

The Technion researchers plan to launch into space a structure of three nanosatellites weighing up to six kilos each as part of a unique project led by Prof. Pini Gurfil from the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering and the Asher Institute for Space Research at the Technion. The project will be unveiled on January 30, 2012 as part of the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute and will be presented to representatives of space agencies and space researchers from all over the world.

"This is the first time in the world that they will try to launch three satellites that will fly together in a controlled structure. So far, such a launch has not been possible due to the size and weight of the satellites and the problems arising from launching satellites with a uniform structure and their prolonged stay in space," says Prof. Gurfil.

The Technion researchers hope to launch the three nanosatellites in 2015. The satellites will try to receive signals at given frequencies from Earth and calculate the location of the transmission source. Receiving signals from the earth into space with the help of several nanosatellites flying in a structure flight is an innovative experiment, which has not been carried out so far. If this experiment is successful, it will be possible to develop flying satellites in a structure that will be used for a variety of applications, such as locating and identifying people in distress through the satellite system.
Another goal of the experiment is to prove that it is possible to maintain a controlled and uniform structure of satellites for a year in an orbit 600 km above the surface of the earth, something that has not been tried so far. For this purpose, the researchers plan for the first time to install a propulsion system on each of the satellites that will help keep the structure in space for an extended period of time.

The satellites are built on the basis of a CubeSat standard structure whose parts will be assembled by the researchers with the help of the students in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering at the Technion. The structure of the satellites consists of six cubes each measuring 10 x 1010 x 20 cm, so that each satellite will be a box measuring 3010 x XNUMX cm. Measuring devices, antennas, computer systems, control systems, and navigation devices will be mounted on top of the boxes. The software and algorithms that will manage the flight were developed in the Laboratory for Distributed Space Systems at the Asher Institute for Space Research at the Technion. The nanosatellite structure will be launched as an additional payload on an existing launch via Europe, Russia or India.

The experiment is based on a prototype designed by Prof. Gurfil thanks to a grant of one and a half million euros that he received a few months ago from the European Union. In designing the prototype, Prof. Gurfil and the interdisciplinary research group that works with him managed to overcome a variety of problems arising from the need to keep the satellites in a uniform structure so that they do not move away from each other, do not get too close to each other, and manage to communicate with each other and manage themselves in the event of a malfunction, as well as to fix their relative position with a minimum of fuel so that they stay in space for a long time.

"If we succeed in proving in an experiment that the flight of the structure is possible, it will give impetus to the development of small satellites and technologies related to the miniaturization of electronic components, efficient processing in space and propulsion systems in space. These technologies may contribute to a variety of civilian applications and to the advancement of the space industry in Israel," says Prof. Gurfil and adds: "Another goal of the project is to contribute to the practical training of space engineers, so undergraduate and graduate students will play practical roles in testing various aspects related to the mission and developing the system. Dedicated training and practical experience of space engineers is essential for Israel's future in the field."

In July 1998, researchers and students from the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering at the Technion launched the Gurvin Text 2 satellite. The satellite, one of the smallest of its kind in the world, managed to stay in space and fulfill all its missions for about 12 years. It was built as a cube with each of its sides 45 cm long, its weight 48 kg and its electricity consumption was extremely low.
Photo: Technion spokespeople