Ongoing
NANOSTAR is a project supported by the European Regional Development Fund (European Union) through the INTERREG-SUDOE V-B Program.
It implements a network of universities and institutions to provide a practical, hands-on education in space systems with the development of nanosatellites.
The primary activity of the network is the initiation of student challenges (for design, development, and testing) to be tackled by multidisciplinary teams of students.
The consortium is composed of 7 universities and 2 aerospace clusters in France, Spain and Portugal, plus 3 ESA-BIC centers as associates.
The project started in APril 2018 and it will last until Sept 2020.
The NANOSTAR network is articulated about three axes:
- A catalogue of partner resources (facilities, equipment, software, expertise, industry ecosystem)
- A common hardware and software infrastructure for collaborative engineering (Concurrent Enginering Facilities at each institution)
- A robust work methodology for the design, production, and testing of nanosatellites.
Students, You are invited to participate to student challenges and to be end-users of the network in the future.
Call for Tender – Software development service
ROBUSTA-3A Méditerranée
- 3U CubeSat
- Development time: 7 years
- Started in 2013, completion and launch in 2020
- Estimated number of students involved: 300
- Mission duration: 2 years
Mission for Meteo France (the French weather forecast organisation):
Three times bigger than ROBUSTA-1U, Méditerranée will be able to point to a specific location on Earth in order to collect environmental data, which, once sent to Meteo France, will allow them to forecast the severe autumnal rainfalls in the South of France and alert the local people of these regions.
Co-financed by Van Allen Foundation and CNES within CNES JANUS program
Student internships financed by Van Allen Foundation
ROBUSTA-1D CELESTA
- 1U CubeSat
- Estimated development time: 5 years
- From 2015 to 2020 (ready for launch)
- Estimated number of students involved: 50
Mission en partenariat avec le CERN :
Comparer l’environnement radiatif en orbite basse autour de la Terre et celui qui est produit dans la chambre d’irradiation CHARM au moyen d’un moniteur de radiations (le détecteur RADMON) du CERN. L’Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire est le plus grand centre de physique des particules du monde. CELESTA a été selectionné parmi les meilleures équipes européennes pour faire partie du programme Fly Your Satellite ! de l’ESA.
Co-financed by CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research
ROBUSTA-1C MTCube
- 1U CubeSat
- Estimated development time: 4 years, from 2014 to 2019 (ready for launch)
- Number of students involved: 50
Mission for ESA:
Measuring the error rate and error location on different types of flash memories in space.
Co-financed by Van Allen Foundation and ESA.
Student internships financed by Van Allen Foundation.
2nd French nanosatellite in orbit
June 23rd 2017
Launched by an Indian PSLV rocket from India in June 2017 and has been in operation since.
2+ years of measurements
Operational
- 1U CubeSat
- Development time: 4 years, started in 2012, ready for launch in 2015, launched in 2017, currently in operation.
- Number of students involved: 50
- Mission duration: 2 years
Mission:
Validating a new radiation test standard and a new communication bus.
Co-financed by Van Allen Foundation and ESA
Student internships financed by Van Allen Foundation
Completed
ROBUSTA-1A
The first French nanosatellite launched into space
February, 13th 2012
Launched on the VEGA maiden flight
March 2015
Re-entry and end of life
- Type of nanosatellite: 1U CubeSat
- Development time: 6 years
- From 2006 to 2012 (ready for launch)
- Number of students involved: 300
Mission:
Measuring the effect of space radiation on electronic components made up of bipolar transistors
Co-financed by CNES within EXPRESSO program
FRIENDS
The French Russian Payload or FRIENDS project for the Russian Baumanets-2 microsatellite of Bauman Technical State University, Moscow.
French Russian project initiated in 2009 by the French and Russian Ministers of Research. The payload developed by the University Space Center was delivered to Bauman in May 2015. Unfortunately Baumanets-2 and the FRP were completely destroyed in the crash of the Soyuz 2.1 launcher in November 2017. This joint collaboration was nevertheless a great experience for CSU and the Youth Space Center of Bauman.
- Type of satellite: microsatellite (10 to 100 kg)
- Development time of payload: 7 years
- From 2009 to 2015 (ready for delivery)
- Number of students involved: 50
Mission for Bauman Technical State University:
Similar to ROBUSTA-1A, measuring the effects of space radiation on electronic components made up of bipolar transistors.
Co-financed by CNES and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Student internships financed by Van Allen Foundation
SACRED
The unlucky SACRED nanosatellite
French-American project. The experiment developed by the French team was placed on board the SACRED CubeSat of the University of Arizona. SACRED was launched in July 2006 but the launcher exploded at take-off with all its cargo.
- Development time of payload: 2 years
- From 2001 to 2003 (ready for launch)
- Estimated number of students involved: 5
Mission for Arizona University:
Measuring the effect of space radiation on MOS power transistors
Financed by Thales Alenia Space