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 UK¹s 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 ESA¹s 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