The Latmos InspireSat 7 cubesat is scheduled for launch on April 3, with three major objectives.
Two years after UVSQ-Sat
A little more than two years ago, on January 24, 2021, the mission " sherpa " SpaceX's Transporter 1 had embarked 143 small satellites, including a demonstrator from the Latmos (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales - Sorbonne University / UVSQ / CNRS), UVSQ-Sat.
It was the first climate study nano-satellite developed by a French university.
Constellation formation
On April 3 a new cubesat 2U (about 2 kg) from Latmos will again be entrusted to the Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter 7 mission, and placed in low orbit: InspireSat 7.
It will be launched from the U.S. base at Vandenberg, California.
It will join UVSQ-Sat at an altitude of about 550 km to form a constellation of satellites dedicated to Earth observation.
Major objectives
Two times larger than its predecessor and equipped with miniaturized sensors to measure critical climate variables and test new devices, InspireSat 7 has three major objectives:
- to measure the Earth's radiation budget and characterize the ionosphere
- to test on orbit new technological equipment resulting from research conducted by Latmos, Onera and their academic and industrial partners,
- train students in space engineering professions, from various backgrounds (Master NewSpace of the Université Paris-Saclay, engineering school Estaca, IUT of Mantes-en-Yvelines...).
Découvrez cet article sur Air&Cosmos