GMOD: The Gamma-Ray Module on EIRSAT-1

EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite) is a 2U CubeSat developed by students at University College Dublin (UCD) as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Fly Your Satellite! program. Upon launch, EIRSAT-1 will be Ireland`s first satellite and will feature a number of scientific payloads originally developed at UCD. This includes GMOD: a miniaturised gamma-ray detector to study high energy transients such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).

EIRSAT-1 will be the first spacecraft to incorporate OnSemiconductor (SensL) silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) in a space-based gamma-ray instrument. It will feature an array of 16 SiPMs coupled to a 25x25x40mm Cerium Bromide crystal. The SiPM readout will be conducted by the SIPHRA application specific integrated circuit, designed by IDEAS Norway. A yield of 12 GRBs over 1 year with 10-sigma significance including 1 short GRB is expected from GMOD.

Other payloads include the ENBIO Module: an experiment to test ENBIO coatings to be used on ESA`s Solar Orbiter and Wave Based Control: a UCD developed control system for flexible spacecraft structures and under-actuated systems. These experiments, GMOD in particular, will further the applied sciences developed in UCD and will raise the TRL for future Irish space missions in larger CubeSats and constellations with the ultimate aim of localisation.

The EIRSAT-1 Engineering-Qualification Model is currently under development with environmental testing planned for the Autumn of 2019. Currently, the Flight Model is planned for delivery in mid 2020 with an expected launch to the ISS for deployment later in that year.

JM presenting on behalf of the EIRSAT-1 team.