TOLIMAN Spacecraft - Nanosats Database

Satellite	TOLIMAN ((Telescope for Orbit Locus Interferometric Monitoring of our Astronomical Neighbourhood))
Spacecraft type	CubeSat
Units or mass	16U
Status	not launched, expected in 2025
Launcher	not launched
Organization	University of Sydney
Institution	University
Entity type	Academic / Education
Nation (HQ)	Australia
Nation (AIT)	Bulgaria
Manufacturer	AIVT by EnduroSat
Operator	EnduroSat
Oneliner	Perform high-precision astrometric measurements on the Alpha Centauri system.
Description	EnduroSat will design and build a 16U MicroSat called TOLIMAN to perform high-precision astrometric measurements on the Alpha Centauri system. The search for exoplanets will focus on the habitable zone around two Sun-like stars, Alpha Centauri A and B. The TOLIMAN mission was launched in 2021 by the University of Sydney and Breakthrough Watch, the Initiatives program specializing in the search for nearby habitable exoplanets. It will use a custom-designed mirror to spread starlight into a flower-like pattern, enabling astronomers to find evidence of orbiting planets in the Alpha Centauri system. Phase 2 of the program – designing and building the telescope and integrating it with the spacecraft – is now under way, with EnduroSat as partner.Discovering exoplanets is a major technological challenge, even for large space telescopes. For a MicroSat, the task is daunting. The small satellite needs to fit the telescope within 8U of volume and maintain it in thermal equilibrium using an active thermal system. EnduroSat’s flight proven MicroSat can downlink payload data at a speed of 125+ Mbps, which will be critical for downloading all data from prolonged observation sessions. This groundbreaking mission aims to be an inspiration not only to future astronomers around the world but also to small satellite companies aiming toward exploration missions. It will demonstrate that NanoSats and MicroSats can perform complex missions and contribute to new discoveries.
Sources	[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Photo sources	[1]
COTS subsystems	PLATFORM - EnduroSat

Last modified: 2023-12-09