The first Grenoble nanosatellite AMICal Sat will soon join Arianespace!

Research
On  March 10, 2020
Assembly of the various nanosatellites as they will appear in the rocket. AMICal Sat, in its POD, at the top left of the photo ©SAB Aerospace
Assembly of the various nanosatellites as they will appear in the rocket. AMICal Sat, in its POD, at the top left of the photo ©SAB Aerospace
The Arianespace VV16 flight originally scheduled for March 24, 2020, on which the AMICalSat nanosatellite was to be embarked, has been cancelled due to the current health crisis. The Grenoble nanosatellite, designed by scientists and students from the Grenoble University Space Center, has once again been postponed. Its scientific mission is to observe the polar aurora in order to better understand how solar activity affects the Earth's atmosphere and can disrupt our technological systems.

This delay, a frequent occurrence in the field of space sciences, will not impact the scientific mission, as there are no time constraints involved in observation of the polar aurora.

Initiated in 2017 by the CSUG, the AMICal Sat nanosatellite project is the fruit of collaboration between some fifty students at UGA and Grenoble INP, and research, industry and education professionals from the Auvergne Rhone-Alpes region, notably the Grenoble agglomeration and the Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Of the businesses involved in the project, there are six industrial sponsors united by Fondation UGA (Air Liquide, Teledyne e2v, Nicomatic, Lynred, Gorgy Timing, NPC SYSTEM) and one Polish industrial partner (SatRevolution). The technology at the heart of the project was created in laboratories at the Grenoble site: IPAG*[2] / OSUG, CEDMS, IUT1 GMP, S.Mart (ex-AIP DS). The project's success is also a result of significant collaboration with the amateur radio operator community, notably including AMSAT France and ADRI 38.


AMICal Sat prêt à être intégré dans sa boîte de lancement (POD) © T. Sequies / CSUG

AMICal Sat ready to be integrated into its launch box (POD) © T. Sequies / CSUG

Published on  March 16, 2020
Updated on  March 20, 2020