NANOSATELLITES

Israeli Nanosatellites Begin Collecting Data

 

By Michael Selutin

Israel Today 

March 31, 2021

Nanosatellites developed by the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will enable high-precision geolocation.

The equipment includes KI / ML processors from the Israeli space company Ramon. The propulsion system was developed by Rafael and is based on krypton gas. Never before has such a small satellite been operated in this way anywhere in the world.

CubeSat satellites measure just 10 × 10 × 10 centimeters with a mass of about 1.33 kilograms per unit. They are about the size of a shoebox. Each nanosatellite in the mission weighs around 8 kilograms and acts autonomously. The solar panels also act as sails to steer the formation without fuel if necessary by using the drag of the atmosphere. Each of the nanosatellites is equipped with its own receiver.

The task of the satellites is to receive signals from the earth in order to calculate the position of people, planes and ships. It is used for search and rescue operations, remote sensing and environmental monitoring.

The satellites were launched in Kazakhstan. The orbit is at an altitude of 550 kilometers. The Technion is responsible for evaluating the information obtained.

The development of nanosatellites is very advanced in Israel and allows the small country to carry out space missions that previously only the big players could finance. “You could compare the innovation of the nanosatellites with the switch from the PC to the mobile phone,” said a member of the research team.

The University of Tel Aviv, in cooperation with NASA, also built a nanosatellite that measures cosmic radiation, among other things. Scientists expect thousands of nanosatellites to be orbiting the earth in the near future. Among other things, the Internet connections worldwide will be drastically improved by them.

Israel continues to firmly establish itself as a member of the club of global space powers.