Aalto-1 satellite overcomes difficulties in Orbit

Finnish Satellite Aalto-1 has successfully cleared the difficulties it has faced in orbit.

The largest amount of research data has been provided by the RADMON radiation monitor carried by the satellite, said a press release of the University of Turku on Monday.

Carried by an Indian PSLV rocket, the Aalto-1 nanosatellite, designed and built by Aalto University students, was launched into space a year ago on the morning of 23 June 2017.

The long-awaited launch went well, and connection to the satellite was established the very same morning.

The Aalto-1, weighing four kilos, carried into orbit state-of-the-art Finnish technology: an imaging spectrometer built by VTT, a radiation monitor jointly constructed by the Universities of Turku and Helsinki and a plasma brake developed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, which is aimed at reducing the amount of space debris.

The largest amount of research data has been provided by the RADMON radiation monitor.

Rami Vainio, Professor at the Space Research Laboratory of the University of Turku, describes the year as a total success.

“We have reached all our technical and scientific objectives: we now understand quite well the response of the device to the electron and proton radiation, and we have mapped the radiation environment in the Low Earth Orbit. We are currently in the process of analysing the temporal changes in the electron belt and their dependency on the properties of the solar wind flowing past Earth. According to our measurements, the north-south component of the solar-wind magnetic field best forecasts how intensive the electron radiation is in the Low Earth Orbit. We will present our results in the COSPAR conference in Pasadena next month,” Vainio said.

According to Assistant Professor Jaan Praks, who is the leader of the Aalto-1 project at Aalto University, the satellite is still functioning well after its first year.

“The satellite has required surprisingly lot of technical adjustments, for example, the slowness of the radio contact has made it more difficult to download images taken by the satellite and to update software than anticipated. Still, after one year, the satellite is functioning well, and all systems are fully functional. The latest software update helped us gain better control of the satellite’s attitude and it is now easier to take photographs and download images. The mission continues, and we are currently preparing a new spectrometer imaging campaign,” Praks said.

Aalto-1’s journey in space was originally intended to last approximately two years. According to Praks, the success of the plasma break test will decide how well this timetable will hold. The idea with the break built by the Finnish Meteorological Institute is to slow down the satellite, which makes it descend into a lower orbit and finally crash into Earth's atmosphere.