UPMSat-2 Micro-satellite: In-orbit technological demonstration for education and science

Resumen

The UPMSat-2 micro-satellite was launched on September the 3rd 2020 at 01:51:10 UTC from Kourou spaceport in French Guyana. The VV16 Vega Flight has been the first low Earth orbit rideshare commercial flight with a total of 53 satellites (7 of them micro-satellites) to be released by the launch vehicle, arranged in the modular SSMS (Small Spacecraft Mission Service) dispenser. UPMSat-2 is an educational, scientific and in-orbit technological demonstration microsatellite project led by the IDR/UPM research institute from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. This mission can be considered as a logical extension of the IDR/UPM Institute activities focused on designing small satellites to be used as educational platforms of first level. Thereby, UPMSat-2 (as well as its precursor, the UPMSat-1) has the main objective to give students the competences for designing, analyzing, manufacturing, integrating, testing and operating the platform. UPMSat-2 also includes a set of scientific payloads and equipment to be tested in space, provided by research institutions and private companies. The UPMSat-2 is a 50 kg-class microsatellite developed for a 2-year LEO mission with a geometrical envelope of 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.6 m. Since launch, the satellite is orbiting the Earth in a sun-synchronous orbit of 500 km of altitude, passing over the IDR/UPM ground station four times a day. The satellite operation is being carried out by students and professors of the Master in Space Systems (MUSE), an official Master’s program of UPM organized by IDR/UPM. This work describes the most relevant characteristics of UPMSat-2, its payloads, technological contributions, and the main activities performed up to the launch, including participation in the launch campaign in French Guyana. The lessons learned during the mission are also summarized. Finally, the importance and benefits of incorporating actual space systems design and development within academic programs is also emphasized, as it improves these programs with constant and direct feedback.