* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: TechDemoSat-1

Blobrana · L

UK satellite's view of 'Blue Planet' Earth

Out of the darkness comes a stunning swathe of blue.
This video of Planet Earth was acquired by TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) just moments after being released by its launch rocket high above the Pacific.
It is thought to be the first such movie ever captured by a wholly British-built spacecraft.
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Blobrana · L

SSTL announces the successful launch of UK in-orbit demonstrator satellite, TechDemoSat-1

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) today announced the successful launch of TechDemoSat-1, an in-orbit technology demonstration mission for innovative UK spacecraft equipment and software. The spacecraft was launched into 635km sun-synchronous orbit on board a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle with a Fregat upper stage from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 15:58:28 UTC yesterday, 8 July 2014.
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Blobrana · L

British asteroid mapper sent into orbit

The Compact Modular Sounder instrument, built by researchers at Oxford University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council RAL Space facility, was launched on 8 July 2014, at around 17:00 BST, as part of the spacecraft TechDemoSat-1. The spacecraft was blasted into Earth orbit aboard a Soyuz-2 rocket taking off from a launch site in Kazakhstan.
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Blobrana · L

SSTL tests TechDemoSat-1 plasma population payload

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has completed another milestone in the UK's technology demonstration satellite TechDemoSat-1 with the successful testing of the engineering model of the first payload, a novel charged particle spectrometer design.
The Charged Particle Spectrometer (ChaPS) built by UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (UCL-MSSL), has a form factor of a 1-U CubeSat. It will demonstrate a novel payload design that combines the capabilities of multiple analysers by using four miniaturised sensors to perform simultaneous electron-ion detection. Each of the sensors is optimised to carry out electrostatic analysis of the different space plasma populations expected in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). ChaPS is extremely attractive because it saves mass, power and volume - and ultimately mission cost - while providing an enabling technology for future space missions such as ESA's proposed JUICE mission to Jupiter. Its low cost also opens up new applications for such instrumentation that were simply not feasible in the past.
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Blobrana · L

The UK is going to develop a satellite to trial innovative space technologies.
It is hoped the components and instruments flying on TechDemoSat (TDS) can prove their worth and go on to win substantial international business.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) will lead the project.
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Blobrana · L

SSTL's TechDemoSat-1 to demonstrate UK innovation in space

Small satellite pioneer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has today been awarded a grant to commence the design phase of a national technology demonstration satellite called TechDemoSat-1. The UK's Technology Strategy Board and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) have together provided a grant of £770,000 to fund the core mission design elements. SSTL, UK industry and UK academia will fund the novel payload technologies and the grant will enable the final payload selection process to be completed. Following a successful design phase, a further grant of £2,730,000 will be released and that the programme will transition into the build and test phase.
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