ÑuSat satellite series (, sometimes translated into English as NewSat) is a series of Argentinean commercial

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

s. They form the Aleph-1 constellation, which is designed, built and operated by

Satellogic Satellogic Inc. is a company specializing in Earth-observation satellites, founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte. Satellogic began launching their Aleph-1 constellation of ÑuSat satellites in May 2016. On 19 December 201 ...

Overview

Satellites design

The satellites in the constellation are identical 51 × 57 × 82 cm spacecraft of mass. The satellites are equipped with an

imaging system Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

operating in

visible light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm ...

and

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

. The constellation will allow for commercially available real-time

Earth imaging Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell i ...

and video with a ground resolution of . The satellites were developed based on the experience gained on the BugSat 1 prototype satellite.

BugSat 1

The BugSat 1 (nickname Tita) was a technology demonstration mission for the ÑuSat satellites. It was launched on 19 June 2014 by a Russian Dnepr rocket. It was a

microsatellite A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain Sequence motif, DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organ ...

weighing 22 kg with outer dimensions of 27.5 × 50 × 50 cm. It also carried amateur radio capabilities.

Missions

The Aleph-1 constellation will consist of more than 300 satellites. The first two satellites were launched as piggy-back payloads on a Chinese

Long March 4B The Long March 4B (), also known as the Chang Zheng 4B, CZ-4B, and LM-4B, is a Chinese expendable orbit, orbital launch vehicle. Launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, it is a 3-stage launch vehicle, used mostly ...

rocket in May 2016 from the

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) also known as ''Base 25'' (), is a People's Republic of China space and defense launch facility (spaceport). It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province and is the second of four laun ...

into a 500 km

Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

with an inclination of 97.5°. The third satellite was launched as a piggy-back payload on a Long March 4B launch vehicle in June 2017. The fourth and fifth satellites were launched as piggy-backs on a

Long March 2D The Long March 2D (), also known as the Chang Zheng 2D, CZ-2D, and LM-2D, is a Chinese two-stage orbital carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology ( ...

rocket in February 2018. The sixth satellite was launched on a rideshare mission on a

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...

rocket in September 2020. Satellites number seven and eight were launched as piggy-backs on a Long March 2D rocket in January 2020. Satellites number 9-18 were launched on a

Long March 6 The Long March 6 () or Chang Zheng 6 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6 for export or CZ 6 within China, is a Chinese liquid-fuel rocket, liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long March (rocket family), Long March family, which was developed by t ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

on 6 November 2020.

Ground communications

An U/V transponder with 2 watts of output power for 8 GHz downlink and 2 GHz uplink will be operating on 100 kHz bandwidth.

LabOSat / MeMOSat payloads

MeMOSat, developed by the LabOSat Group, designed and built by a group of scientists at the National Atomic Energy Commission (), the

National Institute of Industrial Technology The National Industrial Technology Institute (), commonly known as INTI, is an Argentine federal agency in charge of the developing of Industrial technology. It was created in 1957. See also * INTA, National Agricultural Technology Institute of ...

(), the

National University of General San Martín The National University of General San Martín (, UNSAM) is an Argentine public university whose main campus is located in the city of San Martín, Buenos Aires Province. The university was established in 1992, when the executive approved law n ...

() and

National Scientific and Technical Research Council The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (, CONICET) is an Argentina, Argentine Government of Argentina, government agency which directs and co-ordinates most of the scientific and technical research done in List of universities i ...

(CONICET). This memory was specially designed to operate in harsh environments and adverse conditions, such as the strong radiation it must withstand in space. Its main objective is to test electronic components that will be commercialized in the future. To do this, the memory is made up of two metallic films with an oxide between about 20 nm thick, with electrical resistance properties, that can send information from the satellites, allowing to study their behavior in these hostile environments.

AMSAT payload

Additionally, ÑuSat-1 carries a U/V linear transponder called LUSEX provided by AMSAT Argentina (AMSAT-LU) to offer services to the HAM community.

List of satellites

Although the satellites are officially named "ÑuSat", each satellite has a nickname, a tradition from

that dates back since its very first satellite ''Fresco''.

Gallery

File:Emiliano Kargieman & Mauricio Macri.jpg,

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previously ...

alongside Satellogic directives after the launch of Fresco and Batata File:BBAA-Argentina (Satellogic).jpg,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

as seen from one of the ÑuSat satellites

References

External links

* by Space Flights News
Technical reference
by Gunter's Space Page

by China Space Flight

by Gunter's Space Page {{Orbital launches in 2023 Spacecraft launched in 2016 Spacecraft launched in 2017 Spacecraft launched in 2018 Spacecraft launched in 2020 Spacecraft launched in 2021 Spacecraft launched in 2022 Spacecraft launched in 2023 Satellites of Argentina Commercial Earth imaging satellites Satellite constellations 2016 in Argentina 2017 in Argentina 2018 in Argentina 2020 in Argentina