Heads up! A team of engineers and researchers at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) is preparing to launch two research nanosatellites, or CubeSats, into space.
In particular, the PolyITAN-HP-30 nanosatellite will be orbited by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida this December.
When in orbit, the satellite will be used for conducting a scientific experiment to explore the efficiency of heat pipes (HP – this abbreviation stands for “Heat Pipes”) as the major components of thermal stabilization systems of spacecraft.
Recently, the KPI-built CubeSat has been delivered to the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where it will be placed in a special space container and sent to Cape Canaveral in due time.
The next CubeSat to be prepared for the space odyssey is PolyITAN-3-PUT jointly built by KPI and the Poznan University of Technology. Plans are afoot to launch it in the first half of next year.
PolyITAN-3-PUT is designed for remote sensing of the Earth in the optical range as well as for data transmission to ground stations located in the two universities. In addition, it is supposed to perform other missions. The satellite will be used for studying the impact of stratospheric aerosol on Earth’s ozone layer that is important for analyzing climate problems and opportunities to influence climate change mitigation. Also, PolyITAN-3-PUT will be used for special research on request of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).