Summer students are working on ESTCube-2 bus and payload solutions

Karoli Kahn, Merle Purre, Johan Kütt | 8.07.2016

The ESTCube team held summer workshops at Tartu Observatory: ESTCube-2 satellite bus workshop and ESTCube-2 payload workshop.

ESTCube-2 workshop 30.06.2016

At the ESTCube-2 satellite bus workshop on June 15th-16th, 2016 the team discussed the interfaces and communication between the different subsystems. They also defined the optimal satellite bus that could be developed under a tight schedule.

The team is aiming to have ESTCube-2 ready for handing over to the launcher in 2018, in the honor of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia. Two scenarios with different deadlines were compared: a) what each subsystem would constitute if the completion deadline was January 2018 and b) which functionalities could be added if the deadline was December 2018. It was decided to develop the satellite bus with more functionality, meaning ESTCube-2 should be ready for delivery in the end of 2018. Launch would presumably take place in summer 2019.

On June 30th and July 1st,2016  the ESTCube-2 payload workshop took place. The ESTCube team and their long-time partners from the Finnish Meteorological Institute exchanged ideas about improvements to the E-sail (electric solar wind sail) experiment module.

In addition to the E-sail payload, the team would like to use the three-unit CubeSat ESTCube-2 to test several other new and promising technologies in the space environment. ESTCubers met with the Tartu University Thin Film Laboratory, the high-speed communications team from Ventspils University College, the Earth Observation team and developers of the ESEO (European Student Earth Orbiter) optical payload from Tartu Observatory and the Swedish company NanoSpace to discuss the possibilities of flying their hardware on board the satellite.

ESTCube-2 development shall be funded with the help of private sponsors. You can support the activities of the student satellite team through the Estonian Student Satellite Foundation (Eesti Tudengisatellidii Sihtasutus, EE797700771001847368, info: estcube@estcube.eu).