The dream that began in 2017 with work carried out by Técnico students and professors has come true seven years later – the ISTSat-1 nanosatellite is going into space aboard Ariane 6. Liftoff is scheduled for today, 9 July, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., at the French space station in Kourou, French Guiana (6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Lisbon time). A small Portuguese cube will be launched into space to test its ability to detect the presence of aircraft in remote areas.
The first university satellite entirely developed and built in Portugal involved many hours of work and the contribution of around 50 people. It is estimated that more than 20 master’s theses have been written. It required overcoming several demanding development stages, after being one of the projects chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA).
“We are sure that the launch of ISTSat-1 will be a historic moment, it will be remembered as a foundational moment of everything we learnt about a satellite entirely built in Portugal”, says the president of Técnico, Rogério Colaço. “It’s a moment of great joy for Técnico and our country”, he adds.
Técnico’s nanosatellite will enter a low circular orbit, 580 kilometres from Earth. The Técnico team will be receiving information from the satellite at the ground station (Oeiras campus) and verifying if the satellite meets the expected list of functions and performance by comparing the data received with reference data. The satellite will send various types of data, including data on the positioning of aircraft that are not visible from Earth and can only be seen from space.
Once in space, ISTSat-1 will be projected and will go its own way. After being launched and its position identified, it will send data to several ground stations involved in the project. The satellite signals will be sent on an open channel and can be received by radio amateurs all over the world. However, only Técnico’s ground station will be able to transmit to the satellite and only Técnico’s team will be able to configure things or ask for more detailed technical diagnostics beyond those that can be decoded on the open channel. It will remain in space for an expected useful time of 5 years until it burns up when it re-enters the atmosphere.
“It’s an engineering system that involves various components, from electrical engineering to mechanical engineering, communications, protocols, and software. It’s a multidisciplinary project, which is great for helping to train good engineering professionals and therefore something that should be cherished at school”, explains Rui Rocha, a professor at Técnico and the project’s coordinator.
The project is coordinated by Rui Rocha, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) at Técnico, a researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), director and one of the founders of the IST NanosatLab. The project had the financial support of Técnico, Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID), Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), and the Mechanical Engineering Institute (IDMEC). A team from the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa) and several companies linked to the sector also participated in the project.
The first university satellite entirely developed and built in Portugal involved many hours of work and the contribution of around 50 people. It is estimated that more than 20 master’s theses have been written. It required overcoming several demanding development stages, after being one of the projects chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA).
“We are sure that the launch of ISTSat-1 will be a historic moment, it will be remembered as a foundational moment of everything we learnt about a satellite entirely built in Portugal”, says the president of Técnico, Rogério Colaço. “It’s a moment of great joy for Técnico and our country”, he adds.
Técnico’s nanosatellite will enter a low circular orbit, 580 kilometres from Earth. The Técnico team will be receiving information from the satellite at the ground station (Oeiras campus) and verifying if the satellite meets the expected list of functions and performance by comparing the data received with reference data. The satellite will send various types of data, including data on the positioning of aircraft that are not visible from Earth and can only be seen from space.
Once in space, ISTSat-1 will be projected and will go its own way. After being launched and its position identified, it will send data to several ground stations involved in the project. The satellite signals will be sent on an open channel and can be received by radio amateurs all over the world. However, only Técnico’s ground station will be able to transmit to the satellite and only Técnico’s team will be able to configure things or ask for more detailed technical diagnostics beyond those that can be decoded on the open channel. It will remain in space for an expected useful time of 5 years until it burns up when it re-enters the atmosphere.
“It’s an engineering system that involves various components, from electrical engineering to mechanical engineering, communications, protocols, and software. It’s a multidisciplinary project, which is great for helping to train good engineering professionals and therefore something that should be cherished at school”, explains Rui Rocha, a professor at Técnico and the project’s coordinator.
The project is coordinated by Rui Rocha, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) at Técnico, a researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), director and one of the founders of the IST NanosatLab. The project had the financial support of Técnico, Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID), Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), and the Mechanical Engineering Institute (IDMEC). A team from the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa) and several companies linked to the sector also participated in the project.
