0000000000860004
AUTHOR
Petri Toivanen
Aalto-1, multi-payload CubeSat: Design, integration and launch
The design, integration, testing, and launch of the first Finnish satellite Aalto-1 is briefly presented in this paper. Aalto-1, a three-unit CubeSat, launched into Sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 km, is operational since June 2017. It carries three experimental payloads: Aalto Spectral Imager (AaSI), Radiation Monitor (RADMON), and Electrostatic Plasma Brake (EPB). AaSI is a hyperspectral imager in visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength bands, RADMON is an energetic particle detector and EPB is a de-orbiting technology demonstration payload. The platform was designed to accommodate multiple payloads while ensuring sufficient data, power, radio, mechanica…
E-sail test payload of the ESTCube-1 nanosatellite
The scientific mission of ESTCube-1, launched in May 2013, is to measure the electric solar wind sail (E-sail) force in orbit. The experiment is planned to push forward the development of the E-sail, a propulsion method recently invented at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The E-sail is based on extracting momentum from the solar wind plasma flow by using long thin electrically charged tethers. ESTCube-1 is equipped with one such tether, together with hardware capable of deploying and charging it. At the orbital altitude of ESTCube-1 (660–680 km) there is no solar wind present. Instead, ESTCube-1 shall observe the interaction between the charged tether and the ionospheric plasma. The E…
ESTCube-1 in-orbit experience and lessons learned
ESTCube-1 is a student satellite project lead by the University of Tartu, Estonia, and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) via Plan for European Cooperating States (PECS). Development of ESTCube-1 has been a collaborative effort with many international partners. The satellite is shown on Figure 1 [1].