The development of the first in Ukraine unified satellite with scientific equipment for space exploration has begun.
The Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine, the Institute of Scintillation Materials of the NAS of Ukraine and the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute are realising this project. A protocol of intent has already been signed. It is planned to develop a general concept and make a laboratory prototype of the nanosatellite in CubeSat format with payload in the form of the miniature logger-analyzer of electrons and protons МіРА_ер with the possibility to serve additional payload of other purpose.
The device will continuously monitor ionizing radiation in the lower layers of the Earth’s magnetosphere, investigate the dynamics of the Earth’s radiation belts as a component of space weather, record non-stationary flows of high-energy electrons and protons at ionospheric and low-orbital satellite altitudes.
“The most important thing in our development is not even a satelline as a planform, but a scientific experiment. For this experiment we develop scientific “stuffing”. It is about the study of radiation belts and space weather. The equipment to be installed on the satellite will give us characteristics of radiation belts for research. There is a hypothesis that, according to this data,it is possible to investigate bursts that affect the equipment on the Earth or, for instance, to predict earthquakes,” explains R. Antypenko, the Dean of the Radioengineering Faculty. Graduate students and students will be involved in the development.
It is the first nanosatellite in Ukraine with scientific equipment. Previously, space exploration was carried out by massive devices weighing tens of kilograms. It is important that the equipment developed in the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute can be installed on its own platform as well as on another satellite.
The unified nanosatellite will be able to supplement or change the composition of the payload for scientific or applied research and observation according to the needs of different industries in Ukraine and abroad.
For reference
The nanosatellite will have a unified construction CubeSat 2U format. It contains scientific payload МіРА_ер, service systems of power, orientation, board computer, communication system. The МіРА_ер device is a miniature logger-analyzer of high-energy electrons and protons of magnetospheric, interplanetary and solar origin. It consists of a detector head with sensitive sensors of elementary charged particles, modules of analog and digital signal processing. Particle sensors were developed by the Institute of Scintillation Materials of the NAS of Ukraine.
The Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine and the Radioengineering Faculty Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is already developing a concept and working out modules of a compact device for recording high-energy charged particles in space for CubeSat nanosatellites.