Small satellites offer astronomers "PC" access to the Universe (Forwarded)

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Small satellites offer astronomers "PC" access to the Universe

Small satellites are now ready to open up new avenues in astronomy,
according to a presentation on Friday 7th April at the RAS National
Astronomy Meeting in Leicester. Rapid advances in the capabilities of
satellites smaller than a domestic washing-machine mean that they now
have the pointing stability and accurate positioning needed to carry
astronomical instruments, such as ultraviolet telescopes.

Stuart Eves of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) said, "We see
small satellites as the 'PCs of astronomy'. Like personal computers, the
capabilities of our satellites have moved forward very rapidly over the
past decade. Whilst there will always be a role for the big 'mainframe
computer' satellites, which can carry the huge mirrors and complex
pointing equipment needed for some astronomical experiments, small
satellites can be developed very quickly and the costs are relatively
modest. This means that astronomical experiments can be designed,
launched and be delivering results in under two years."

SSTL has already carried out studies for the European Space Agency for a
Mars sample return mission and a Venus entry probe but the company is
now keen to work with the astronomical community on probing the depths
of the Universe.

"Our satellites can now provide high-precision pointing using an
automatic star camera system to determine the orientation of the
platform, large amounts of on-board data storage and high data downlink
rates to return the observations from the sensors as quickly as
possible," said Eves. "We are also now able to operate several
satellites orbiting in formation and could develop small satellite
constellations for experiments that need rapid responses, e.g. studying
gamma-ray bursts, or three-dimensional investigations of an area of
space, e.g. monitoring the solar wind."

Don Pollacco of Queen's University Belfast said, "Small satellites are
useful in that they can be dedicated to just one or two instruments.
This means that tried and tested instruments can be launched into space
to study a specific problem relatively cheaply. It makes sense that the
UK's technical expertise in small satellites should be combined with the
expertise of the British astronomical community."

The relatively low costs involved mean that small satellites can be
funded by a single country. Canada's MOST satellite, which was launched
in 2003 and has carried out high-precision photometry of stars, has
paved the way for a much larger contribution to astronomy from
small-scale missions.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited

SSTL is a privately owned University of Surrey company, which employs
more than 200 people at Guildford, currently working on LEO,
geostationary and interplanetary platforms. SSTL specialises in the
design, manufacture and operation of low-cost small satellites, provided
on rapid timescales, to meet Earth observation, communications and space
science applications for both civil and military users. Over the past 24
years, SSTL has built and launched 26 small satellite missions into low
Earth orbit for international customers worldwide, pioneering the use of
commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies in advanced and highly
capable satellites.

Recently SSTL contributed to the UK’s TopSat high-resolution optical
surveillance satellite, and also constructed and launched an Earth
observation microsatellite (BEIJING-1) that carries a 4-metre ground
resolution panchromatic camera in addition to a 32-metre resolution
3-band multispectral camera with a remarkable 600km-wide swath. SSTL has
also recently orbited ESA’s GIOVE-A navigation test satellite, which is
providing the first Galileo timing and navigation signals from its
24,000km medium Earth orbit.

For further information see: www.sstl.co.uk or contact Dr Stuart Eves.

IMAGES

SSLT mission concepts

[Image 1:
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories...rs_Telecom.jpg (64KB)]
ExoMars Telecom mission © SSTL

[Image 2:
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/UK_lunar.jpg (56KB)]
UK Lunar Mission concept © SSTL

[Image 3:
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories...icroprobes.jpg (73KB)]
Venus Microprobes © SSTL

CONTACTS

Dr Stuart Eves
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited
Surrey Space Centre
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1483 683347