Towards the flight model: EIRSAT-1 survives an intense environmental qualification campaign

This milestone ran from 13 September to 15 October 2021 at the CubeSat Support Facility in ESEC-Galaxia (Belgium), and was a essential stage on the street to deployment in house.

EIRSAT-1 is a 2-unit CubeSat from University University Dublin. It houses 3 experiments:

• A Gamma-Ray detector (GMOD) to examine the most luminous explosions in the Universe, which manifest when a massive star dies, or when two stars collide
• A thermal coating experiment to review the general performance of novel area remedies (EMOD)
• An mind-set regulate algorithm experiment (wave-primarily based regulate / WBC) to identify its probable as a practical choice to typical Frame of mind Perseverance and Management solutions.

EIRSAT-1’s EQM qualification marketing campaign noticed the CubeSat exposed to circumstances symbolizing space. For instance, an electrodynamic shaker technique mimicked the excessive vibrations along three axes that the satellite will experience throughout start. In the meantime, EIRSAT-1’s Flight Design communications subsystem (CMC) and Antenna Deployment Module (ADM) were being sealed in a thermal vacuum ecosystem and then regularly heated and cooled to serious levels. The EQM was then set up and analyzed in the thermal vacuum chamber over the course of various weeks.

The take a look at chamber’s window was shut all through these tests, which means that the pupils had been not in a position to see their spacecraft. Workforce customers experienced to run functionality tests devoid of immediate visibility, examining that their satellite was in a fantastic health and fitness. It was a great relief when the chamber was eventually opened and the college students could see with their possess eyes that their CubeSat was even now in a single piece!

The marketing campaign was very challenging, but the learners showed terrific adaptability and professionalism. They impressed their ESA Education mentors by getting new capabilities and awareness, strengthening the pillars of their potential careers as engineers and experts.

When back at their home college, the pupils will undertake more investigations to establish no matter if any supplemental design modifications are needed. They can then commence to the assembly and integration of their Flight Product.

“Over 5 weeks doing the job with ESA Education and learning staff at the CubeSat Assistance Facility we had great possibilities to study about how our technique performs in a agent space atmosphere,” defined EIRSAT-1’s university student Exam Engineer. “This test marketing campaign, which was conducted following months of preparing, was pretty satisfying and has given us excellent self confidence in the robustness of our satellite. We had wonderful support from the Fly Your Satellite! staff every action of the way. Personally, I had a fantastic time and discovered so considerably about environmental screening. I’m definitely wanting ahead to making use of that expertise to the progress of our flight model of the spacecraft.”

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