Student satellite with a solar sail will be launched into orbit in 2021

Students of the Far Eastern Federal University have developed a universal solar sail module for small cubesat spacecraft. It will be tested in 2021 as part of the Roscosmos program for the free launch of student satellites.

A development called Low Thrust, which is engaged in the DVFU Project Association Center, became the winner of the Russian Technopark online Accelerator in June 2020. The team received a grant for 100 thousand rubles as a prize.

“The idea that formed the basis of the project is quite simple,” Anastasia Khramtsova, head of the Low Thrust project, told Prima Media . - Currently, liquid or electronic plasma engines are used to correct the orbit of space satellites. However, such engines take up a lot of space and weigh a lot taking into account the supply of fuel. In addition, they are very short -lived. If the plasma engine is replaced with a solar sail, then you can do without fuel directly in orbit - all the movements of the satellite will be performed due to solar pressure. Thus, the engine with smaller fuel will weigh less, which will help increase the maneuverability of the satellite. ”

Anastasia Khramtsova, IA Prima Media

Now the Low Thrust team is working on an experienced model of a solar sail. “We need to develop a design, electronics, check everything, conduct pre -flight tests and start in orbit. All this is planned to be done in 2021, ”explains Khramtsova.

In 2020, on the roof of one of the FEFU educational buildings on the Russian island, they installed a station for receiving satellite data of remote sensing of the Earth. Thanks to this, students have the opportunity to take telemetry, and in some cases even manage the apparatus in orbit by the apparatus in order to gain experience before launching their own satellite.