Samara University Scientific-Educational Nanosatellite Program to study high atmosphere

Creation of nanosatellites is the dominant trend in the development of space education, science and technology at the present time. Since 2014, the Samara University (SU) has been developing the scientific and educational aerodynamically stabilized nanosatellites (ASNS), which can be used in different proposes, in particular to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The emergence of nanosatellites (CubeSats) requires revision of the fundamentals of their dynamics and motion control and construction principals. The latter depend on a number of features resulting from the totality of such factors as geometric dimensions, parallelepiped shape factor, mass and inertial characteristics, putting into orbit (low orbits with the dominating influence of aerodynamic forces), the conditions for launching into orbit as secondary payloads on launch vehicles (large angular velocities after CubeSats leave their launch containers). In the frame of SU Scientific-Educational Nanosatellite Program the first nanosatellite SamSat-218D was designed to hold the technology demonstration of the ASNS with a large static stability margin. The second nanosatellite SamSat-QB50 had transformable construction for creation aerodynamical stabilization after launching and was designed like a part of the international project QB50 to study the Earth’s troposphere.At the initiative of the Samara University, a consortium to create a group of nanosatellites to study the ionosphere was established in 2018. The consortium joins nine Russian universities and two academic institutions. Currently, Samara University is creating a nanosatellite SamSat-ION as an element of the future grouping.

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 17-79-20215