Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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The Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of SPbPU and the Special Technology Center (STC) launched a jointly manufactured nanosatellite of the 16U CubeSat standard from the Vostochny Cosmodrome – it became the sixth inPolytech Universe space satellite constellation.
PU-6 was launched into orbit by the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle together with the Aist-2T satellites No. 1 and No. 2 and another fifty spacecraft for various purposes.
Several hours after separation from the Fregat upper stage, the Polytech Universe No. 6 (PU-6) nanosatellite contacted ground control. Specialists then began flight and space testing of the satellite platform subsystems and the spacecraft's payloads.
The new CubeSat is designed to solve scientific and applied problems in the fields of radio monitoring, geolocation, and inter-satellite communications. Its capabilities include:
Measuring the level of electromagnetic radiation in various frequency ranges; receiving and storing AIS (automatic identification system) messages; transmitting data to the control center for processing and analysis; experimental testing of the operability of the high-speed inter-satellite radio communication system.
The previous five Polytech Universe CubeSats were smaller, comprising only three units (cubes measuring 10 cm on a side). The new PU-6 satellite is significantly larger, with 16 units. This increases its battery capacity and solar panel area, significantly increasing its active orbital time.
"Furthermore, the satellite is equipped with a new version of the onboard AIS receiver with low power consumption, allowing it to operate 24/7. It also has experimental inter-satellite communication equipment, which can improve the processing efficiency of onboard data and reduce the volume of payload data transmitted to the ground control station," explained Sergei Volvenko, a senior researcher at the Higher School of Applied Physics and Space Technology at SPbPU.
The data obtained from the satellite is also planned to be used in the university's educational process, giving students the opportunity to better understand the specifics of space missions.
The project, supported by a grant from the Planet Watch program of the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) as part of the Space-π project, will continue the development of the Polytech Universe group, including educational programs, scientific experiments, and applied research.
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