The new UNSW-EC0 satellite by the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has been launched from the International Space Station (ISS).
The UNSW-EC0 has already made its first pass over Sydney, but UNSW has not received the signal from the satellite to confirm that it is operating as designed.
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UNSW researchers were attempting to establish contact with the satellite, which is a cubesat built using 3D-printing technology.
The UNSW-EC0 is among a host of Australian satellites to be launched into space over 15 years.
ACSER deputy director and UNSW-EC0 project leader Elias Aboutanios said: “We’re not overly concerned yet.
“We’re troubleshooting a number of scenarios for why we didn’t detect it, from checking our ground equipment to exploring the possibility that the batteries might have discharged.
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By GlobalData“But at the moment, we just don’t know.”
Part of the three Australian research satellites launched last month from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US, the UNSW-EC0 is designed to explore the region above Earth known as the thermosphere.
Featuring a 3D-printed thermoplastic chassis, the UNSW-EC0 will study the thermosphere’s atomic composition and test new computer chips and GPS devices developed at UNSW.
Aboutanios added: “This zone of the atmosphere is poorly understood and really hard to measure.
“It’s where much of the ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the Sun collides with Earth, influencing our weather, generating auroras and creating hazards that can affect power grids and communications.”
The UNSW-EC0 cubesat is part of an international QB50 mission, which is headed by von Karman Institute (VKI) in Belgium and includes a swarm of 36 small satellites weighing 1.3kg each.
Image: Rendering of orbiting UNSW-EC0 satellite. Photo: courtesy of UNSW.
