Israeli scientists are preparing to launch a trio of tiny satellites that will be launched around the Earth every 90 minutes, using a total of just 1 gram of fuel per day.
Shoe-box-sized nanosatellites will leave Kazakhstan Earth aboard a Russian rocket at noon, local time, on Saturday, and will be launched from the rocket four hours later, 50 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, to a three-year orbit.
The brain behind the operation is Pini Gurfil, an aerospace engineer whose father and grandparents were banned from Russia to Kazakhstan “just because they were wealthy Jews”. The Israeli-born professor, whose father immigrated to Israel in 1973, told The Times of Israel that launching his innovation from Kazakhstan looks like the end of the traumatic ordeal suffered by his family, which ended up killing his grandmother.
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Israel has already earned a place in the growing field of nanosatellites with several launches from a single satellite, including one last month. Gurfil’s team hopes that the ambitious three-satellite plan will further strengthen Israel’s position in the global effort towards tiny satellites.
Nanosatellites built at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, inside the boxes from which they will be ejected into orbit (courtesy of Technion)
The satellites are being launched to test whether a series of small satellites, instead of a single large satellite, can be used to monitor signals from emergency locating beacons used by ships, planes, explorers and walkers. If possible, say the researchers, it could pave the way for much cheaper monitoring of these systems.
“This is a significant step for Israeli space research and technology,” said Gurfil, one of Technion’s leading space experts. “This opens up new possibilities for localizing beacons and for the miniaturization of satellites, which is an important focus internationally and seen as a disruptive innovation.”
The trio of satellites will be kept in perfect formation, less than 250 kilometers from each other, thanks to the tiny navigators on board.
Engineers with one of the new nanosatellites built at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (courtesy of Technion)
A specially built fuel system, developed at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology along with the rest of the technology on board, will allow each satellite to complete its mission on 400 grams of krypton, the gas often used to fill fluorescent lamps. This represents an average of 133 grams of fuel per year, or 0.37 grams per satellite per day.
One of the new nanosatellites built at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (courtesy of Technion)
The Technion team hopes that, having three separate satellites located relatively close to each other, each following the location of the headlights, will provide highly accurate readings. He will test the theory with his trio of $ 9 million “low cost” satellites, funded by the Adelis Foundation and the Israeli Space Agency, which has been in development for almost 10 years.
Gurfil said it will be an exciting occasion. “It took a long time to develop these satellites, especially the tiny fuel system, and this is the first launch of three satellites together by Israel, so all of this is significant,” he commented. “But it is also significant on another level.
“The rocket that carries the satellites will be launched from Kazakhstan. About 80 years ago, my father and his parents were deported from the USSR by Stalin to Kazakhstan – like others – simply because they were wealthy Jews.
“My grandmother died of hunger in Kazakhstan and was buried, and now we are launching an Israeli satellite from the same soil. So this is exciting for me and symbolic on a national level for the Jewish state. In a way, it looks like a cure for history. “
Gurfil said fuel efficiency was achieved by designing satellites to take advantage of natural forces to maneuver.
“Earth’s gravity pushes them forward, which means that only minimal fuel is needed for their real orbit,” said Gurfil. “This is normal for satellites, but what is special is that these satellites also use minimal fuel to control and navigate.
“This is because they use natural forces, such as gravity and atmospheric resistance, very effectively to find their way. For 10 years, we have been researching how to make satellites fly in formation without them separating due to natural forces and in a fuel efficient way. We are now ready for launch and we are thrilled and excited. “
