RODiO Spacecraft - Nanosats Database

Satellite	RODiO (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services)
Spacecraft type	CubeSat
Units or mass	12U
Entity name	Università di Napoli “Federico II”
Institution	Company
Entity type	Commercial
Country	Italy
Manufacturer	AIVT by ?
Operator	?
Partners	Thales Alenia Space Italia, Apogeo Space, Telespazio, T4i, ALI- Aerospace Laboratory for Innovative components, Euro.Soft, CNR-ISTEC, Techno System developments, SINTEMA Engineering
Oneliner	Combines the advantages of a sensor distributed onboard different CubeSats with those of a bistatic radar working with an illuminator of opportunity.
Description	RODiO (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services) is a new mission concept which combines the advantages of a sensor distributed onboard different CubeSats with those of a bistatic radar working with an illuminator of opportunity. It is a cluster of 4 CubeSats flying in formation with a bigger satellite (illuminator). The CubeSat cluster flies at a safe distance of tens of km from the illuminator, and formation-flying techniques are used to keep all the CubeSats in the cluster within an overall envelope of a few hundred meters. Also, RODiO is a demonstrator of formation fast reconfiguration. Indeed, at the end of the mission, one CubeSat will fly far from other platforms. To achieve this, one of the CubeSat platforms is provided with a flight demonstrator of an innovative hybrid rocket propulsion unit. RODiO mission concept is not limited to a space demonstration but delivers SAR data suitable for a commercial and a scientific downstream. Indeed, RODiO cluster is a single high performance bistatic system. However, differently from a larger monolithic system, RODiO is scalable, meaning the performance is in direct relation to the number of receivers. The CubeSats maintain a safe distance of tens of kilometers from PLT-1, using formation-flying techniques to stay within a few hundred meters. Each CubeSat carries an X-band SAR instrument for bistatic echo collection, using PLT-1 as an illuminator. One CubeSat also features a hybrid rocket propulsion system for high-thrust orbit reconfiguration (10 N). Phase A of RODiO confirmed the mission’s feasibility, addressing radar, electronics, propulsion, and formation-flying solutions for a 16 U CubeSat.
Sources	[1] [2] [3]
Photo sources	[1]
Keywords	Propulsion, Formation flying

Related Spacecraft

Spacecraft	Status	Launcher	Date	Orbit
RODiO A (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services)	not launched (As of May 2024, Phase-A study concluded and may still be a concept)	not launched	2027-12-31	not launched
RODiO B (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services)	not launched (As of May 2024, Phase-A study concluded and may still be a concept)	not launched	2027-12-31	not launched
RODiO C (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services)	not launched (As of May 2024, Phase-A study concluded and may still be a concept)	not launched	2027-12-31	not launched
RODiO D (Radar for Earth Observation by synthetic aperture DIstributed on a cluster of cubesats equipped with high-technology micro-propellers for new Operative services)	not launched (As of May 2024, Phase-A study concluded and may still be a concept)	not launched	2027-12-31	not launched

Last modified: 2025-04-23