SLOSHSAT-FLEVO (Sloshsat Facility for Liquid Experimentation and Verification in Orbit) is a
microsatellite launched to investigate the dynamics of fluids in microgravity. FLEVO stands for Facility for Liquid Experimentation and Verification in Orbit. Multiple sensors were used to monitor the behavior of water in an instrumented tank and how
sloshing
In fluid dynamics, slosh refers to the movement of liquid inside another object (which is, typically, also undergoing motion).
Strictly speaking, the liquid must have a free surface to constitute a slosh dynamics problem, where the dynamics of ...
affects the attitude control of launchers and space vehicles.
The project is a joint program between
ESA
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
, the
Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes
The Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes (in Dutch language, ''Nederlands Instituut voor Vliegtuigontwikkeling en Ruimtevaart'' ''(NIVR)'') was the official space exploration agency of the Dutch government until 2009.
Since 1 July 2009, ...
, and the
Israel Space Agency
The Israel Space Agency (ISA; he, סוכנות החלל הישראלית, ''Sokhnut heKhalal haYisraelit'') is a governmental body, a part of Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology, that coordinates all Israeli space research programs wi ...
.
The primary contractor is the
National Aerospace Laboratory providing the spacecraft structure and power systems. The ejection system and ground support equipment were contracted by NEWTEC. The ISA was responsible for supplying the
sub-propulsion system which was built and assembled by
Rafael
Rafael may refer to:
* Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin
* Rafael, California
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology
* Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane
Fiction
* ''R ...
.
Spacecraft
The spacecraft itself is a 90-cm cube
microsatellite covered by solar cells and fitted with 12 small thrusters.
Launch
Originally Sloshsat-FLEVO was to be launched from the Space Shuttle and use the shuttle as a data relay, but after the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster the satellite was modified to be launched on board the Ariane-5 qualification flight.
The satellite was launched from the
Guiana Space Centre
The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...
launch site at
Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
,
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
on 12 February 2005.
Experiment
The SLOSHSAT-FLEVO is the first satellite entirely dedicated to liquid research in space. The satellite was equipped with an 87-litre cylindrical tank containing 33.5 litres of
de-ionised water. 270 sensors were placed on the tank's walls to measure the
sloshing behavior by calculating the thickness of the water. Three accelerometers and a fibre-optic gyroscope were used to measure the motion of the spacecraft. An array of temperature, pressure and fluid velocity sensors were also installed on the craft.
After depletion of the propellants and completion of the experiment, the satellite was turned off. The satellite had a lifetime of around 14 days. ESA estimate that without active debris removal the orbit would decay by 2335.
See also
*
European Space Agency
*
Israel Space Agency
The Israel Space Agency (ISA; he, סוכנות החלל הישראלית, ''Sokhnut heKhalal haYisraelit'') is a governmental body, a part of Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology, that coordinates all Israeli space research programs wi ...
References
External links
* Shimshon Adler, Abraham Warshavsky, and Arie Peretz. "Low-Cost Cold-Gas Reaction Control System for the Sloshsat FLEVO Small Satellite", Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 42, No. 2 (2005), pp. 345–351. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.5128
{{Israeli Space Program , state=collapsed
Spacecraft launched in 2005
Satellites orbiting Earth
Satellites of Israel
2005 in Israel