ESA SSETI Express
ESA Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative - Express
ESA SSETI Express
ESA Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative - Express
The Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI) was a framework launched by ESA’s Education Department in 2000 to get European students involved in real space missions. The initiative aimed at giving students hands-on experience and encourage them to take up careers in space technology and science, thereby helping to create a pool of talented experts for the future.
As the first project under the SSETI framework, a group of around 250 students from a range of European universities, collectively designed and developed the SSETI Express satellite by using a dedicated news server and weekly online chats. Through the internet, the virtual team was able to move from design to construction of the SSETI Express in less than a year from 2004-2005.
THE SIZE OF A WASHING MACHINE
SSETI Express was a small spacecraft, similar in size and shape to a washing machine (approx. 60 x 60 x 90 cm) weighing around 62 kg. The spacecraft carried a 24 kg payload consisting of three pico-satellites, also called CubeSats, weighing around 1 kg each to be deployed in space as part of the mission. In addition to acting as a test bed for the CubeSats and other designs, including a cold-gas attitude control system, SSETI Express also took pictures of the Earth and functioned as a radio transponder.
Based on the very tangible experiences from the AAU Cubesat, the Danish students from Aalborg University was given a leading role in the development of the SSETI Express, while they also acted as supervisors for some of the other international students who participated in the project.
In detail, the students from Aalborg University was responsible for the development of the ACDS (Attitude Determination and Control System), the CAM (On-board Camera), and the OBC (On-Board Computer) for SSETI Express.
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express
SSETI Express was launched on the 27th of October 2005 by a Cosmos 3M rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. The launch itself was a succes and the project team quickly managed to establish contact and start testing the subsystems of the satellite. However, after passing the primary ground station in Aalborg the second time, it was evident that the battery voltage in the spacecraft had dropped.
SSETI Express continued working flawlessly, however a thorough analysis showed a malfunction in the electrical power subsystem preventing the batteries from charging through the solar array. Therefore, approximately 12.5 hours after launch, the SSETI Express went silent.
Nevertheless, in many aspects the SSETI Express was considered a succes. Of the 19 subsystems, the spacecraft carried, 12 of them operated successfully, 5 could not be tested because the mission ended prematurely, and only 2 failed. The media impact was enormous, with an estimated 100 million TV viewers across the World.
Project Facts
PROJECT NAME
European Space Agency Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative - EXPRESS
EFFECTIVE START/END DATE
2004 - 2005
PROJECT PARTNERS
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- Aalborg University, Denmark
- University of Naples Federico II, Italy
- AMSAT-UK, United Kingdom
- Andøya Rocket Range, Norway
- Dutch Space, Netherlands
- EADS Space
- Holger Eckardt, Germany
- IABG, Germany
- ISF, Germany
- KSAT, Norway
- Map, France
- Royal Netherlands Marine Korps, Netherlands
- Saft, France
- Snecma, SAFRAN Group
- Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited, United Kingdom
- University of Tokyo, Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory (ISSL)
- UTIAS-SFL, Canada
- University of Würzburg, Germany
- Williamson Électronique, France
AAU Space