E-st@r

Summary

e-st@r (Educational Satellite @ Politecnico di Torino) was a miniaturised satellite built by the Politecnico di Torino.[3] It was a 1U CubeSat design with a 10 cm side and a mass not exceeding 1.33 kg.

e-st@r
The Polytechnic University of Turin CubeSat
Namesest@r
e-star
Mission typeTechnology demonstration
OperatorPolitecnico di Torino
COSPAR ID2012-006C Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.38079
Mission durationFinal: 4 years
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeCubeSat
ManufacturerPolitecnico di Torino
Launch mass1 kg (2.2 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date13 February 2012, 10:00:00 UTC[1]
RocketVega (VV01)
Launch siteKourou, ELV
ContractorArianespace
End of mission
DisposalRe-Entry
Deactivated13 February 2016
Last contact10 February 2016
Decay date14 February 2016
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude302 km (188 mi)
Apogee altitude1,082 km (672 mi)
Inclination69.47°
Period98.47 minutes
 

Launch and deployment edit

In 2006 the Polytechnic University of Turin had tried to put one of its satellites into orbit (PiCPoT), but the Dnepr launcher used exploded a few seconds after the start and destroyed itself.

In 2009 the European Space Agency in view of the inaugural launch of Vega (which being the first launch had a high probability of failure) offered 9 seats on the carrier for the same number of cubesats, plus another two seats for larger satellites. Only 7 of the cubesats managed to be prepared in time for launch:

They were launched into low Earth Orbit on the maiden flight of Arianespace's Vega rocket on 13 February 2012 on a multi-payload mission shared with LARES of the Italian Space Agency and ALMASat-1 of the University of Bologna.

The satellite was successfully deployed into orbit, and the signal was received by the team's ground station and by amateur radio operators.[4] However, operations have been impeded by unexpected tumbling, and the satellite was put into safe mode.[5]

The communication system uses a processor PIC and communicates with the ground at a frequency of 437.445 MHz with a power of 0.5 W. The frequencies have been assigned to cubesats by ESA.

A total of about 50,000 euros was spent on the design and construction of the satellite.

The orbit is inclined 71° and is slightly elliptical. It also crosses the van Allen belts.

The satellite was created by the CubeSatTeam of the Polytechnic of Turin, responsible for creating picosatellites.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Display: E-STAR 2012-006C". N2YO.com. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  3. ^ Sabrina Corpino, Nicole Viola, Fabrizio Stesina, and Sergio Chiesa, "Design and development of the e-st@r CubeSat", Paper IAC-09.B4.6B.3, 2009 International Astronautical Congress (accessed 16 August 2013)
  4. ^ E-ST@R successfully launched (accessed 16 August 2013)
  5. ^ eoPortal Directory, E-ST@R (Educational SaTellite @ politecnico di toRino) (accessed 16 August 2013)
  6. ^ Stesina, Fabrizio; Corpino, Sabrina (30 April 2020). "In Orbit Operations of an Educational Cubesat: the e-st@r-II Experience". International Review of Aerospace Engineering (IREASE). 13 (2): 40–50. doi:10.15866/irease.v13i2.18317. ISSN 2533-2279. S2CID 225938670.

External links edit

  • http://areeweb.polito.it/cubesat-team Archived 29 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  • http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/e-star.htm