OrbiCraft - Zorkiy Satellite

Demonstration of new CubeSat platform and remote sensing camera with 6.6 meter resolution.

Confirm the characteristics of our Cubesat platform in the 6U form factor, confirm the characteristics of the new remote sensing camera, flight testing of new systems and testing a new launch container.

The Orbicraft Pro SXC6 nanosatellite platform is a set of onboard service systems and structural elements for developing a small satellite in the Cubesat 6U format. On-board systems include: main and backup on-board computing module, primary and backup power supply system, primary and backup UHF transmitter, primary and backup batteries, on-board network, flywheel block, X-band transmitter, star sensor, 6 solar sensors, payload integration module, structure.

A high resolution camera for the ERS will be installed on board Zorkiy. Camera data will be transmitted to X-band ground stations.

The main payload is a camera manufactured by RPA Lepton, designed specifically for CubeSat 6U nanosatellites, taking into account the capabilities of the SXC6 platform. The camera is equipped with a thermal stabilization and focusing system, as well as a built-in memory device, which allows shooting on demand, without being bound to receiving stations.

Payloads:

• ERS camera RPA Lepton with a remote sensing camera adapter with a temperature control system;
• two wide-angle cameras for visual control of spacecraft systems;
• basic payload board SXC-MBB-06 for testing the reference design, which will later be provided to those wishing to develop payloads compatible with our platform (as we do with the SXC-MBB-03 board for OrbiCraft-Pro SXC3 and SXC1);
• solar sensor of increased accuracy manufactured by SPUTNIX for promising satellites of larger dimension

The development of the platform and remote sensing camera is co-financed by the Foundation For Assistance To Small Innovative Enterprises (Bortnik Foundation).

The Zorkiy spacecraft is a modern ultra-compact satellite for Earth remote sensing (ERS). Despite the compact size of CubeSat 6U, the spacecraft contains a professional telescope camera with a high resolution of up to 6.6 meters per pixel, which puts it at a very high technical level for devices of this size provided by world standards.

The pride of the company is new satellite platform "OrbiCraft-Pro SXC6", developed by our engineers on the basis of own service systems. The development became possible by Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) participance. The task of the platform is technological level demonstration and capacity building for a series of modern domestic nanosatellites able to compete in the international nano and microsatellites market.

The OrbiCraft-Zorkiy mission supposes to launch the same-name spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and to deploy the ground segment for its operation and data acquisition. Technical data will be processed by SPUTNIX, and the payload data will be transferred to the camera manufacturer and other interested parties. The data from the spacecraft is open and does not have a commercial component, which allows it to be received and used by radio amateurs and groups around the world. Instructions and software will be posted on SPUTNIX website free and open for everyone, following the example of previous SiriusSat-1,2 missions.

Despite the limited active life of the OrbiCraft-Zorkiy spacecraft, the deployed ground segment infrastructure will be preserved for the operation of other satellites of the company.

Mission participants:

• SPUTNIX - lead contractor, development of spacecraft and ground control segment;
• Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) - organization of launch and cooperation;
• Research and production association (RPA) Lepton - development of the main payload;
• Glavkosmos Launch Services - provision of spacecraft launching to LEO;
• Scanex - modification of X-band reception stations and reception payload’s data.

A number of technological experiments are planned as part of the space mission:

• testing of service systems from the SXC6 platform;
• testing of SXC6 ADCS in various modes;
• testing of shooting modes of the RPA Lepton camera;
• testing of data transmission modes in X-band;
• testing of a new solar sensor with increased accuracy;
• receiving data from wide-angle cameras;
• life tests of the SXC6 platform.

• PLATFORM - Sputnix

[1] [2] [3] [4]