| Satellite name | The Flying Object (AuroraSat-1, Aurora CubeSat) |
|---|---|
| Form factor | CubeSat |
| Units or mass | 1.5U |
| Status | No signal (Object not identified and personal contact as of 2022-12-21) |
| Launched | 2022-05-02 |
| NORAD ID | ? |
| Deployer | Maxwell [Rocket Lab] |
| Launcher | Electron |
| Entity name | Aurora Propulsion Technologies |
| Institution | Company |
| Entity | Commercial |
| Country | Finland |
| Manufacturer | AIVT by SatRev |
| Operator | ? |
| GS Service | RBC Signals |
| Launch brokerer | Momentus |
| Partners | SatRev |
| Oneliner |
Demonstrate water resistojet thrusters and the Plasma Brake Module for deorbiting. |
| Description |
Demonstrate water-fueled resistojet thrusters to provide attitude and altitude control as well as the Plasma Brake Module for deorbiting. The Plasma Break Module includes a tether thinner than a human hair and about 500 meters long that creates drag through its interaction with plasma in the upper atmosphere. Aurora’s attitude control system has 6 thrusters and one of the world’s smallest thrust systems. It includes a Plasma Brake Module (PBM) that can deorbit the satellite once the mission is completed from anything up to 1000 km altitude orbits. PBM has significantly lower power consumption, it is lightweight and best of all it is fully Cubesat compatible. PBM works on any inclination orbit and it can be effective on satellites of up to 24kg of mass. We currently have two PBM modules on the platform, each of them having a slightly different deployment sequence. One of the PBM modules can be launched in the passive mode, meaning the satellite is not spinning. The other PBM module will be in an active mode, meaning the satellite is spinning. Both techniques, need to prove that they are able to perform. We have successfully tested it on Earth with positive outcomes. The PBM modules have their own independent power system which can function without the satellite. PBM has a passive system that is completely autonomous. There might be a situation where the propulsion system or the communication system might not respond, however, the PBM automatically deploys. It is one of the few systems in the market that can deorbit a malfunctioning satellite. After 6 months or so that all tests have been completed, we activate the PBM. The deorbit time will be from 1.5 to 2 years. |
| Sources | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] |
| Photo sources | [1] [2] [3] [4] |
| COTS subsystems |
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| Keywords | Propulsion, De-orbit device |
| On the same launch |
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Last modified: 2024-05-29
