Currently, Ukraine’s Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) is developing new nanosatellites PolyITAN of the CubeSat class. They will be used for exploring space and processes occurring on Earth. Plans are in hand to orbit one of the satellites, namely PolyITAN-3, in 2021.
Specifically, Igor Sikorsky KPI is building the satellite in conjunction with Poland’s Poznan University of Technology.
To date, the engineering model PolyITAN-3 is still in the pipeline. The vehicle can be used for remote sensing of the Earth, environmental monitoring, earthquake forecasting, and research in ionosphere. The main mission of the satellite is to take photographs and transmit data to Earth.
The third PolyITAN will transmit images of the Earth: it will photograph and transfer the data for research. The satellite is distinguished by an additional unit designed for photography and by the special wings that enable an increase in the power supply of satellites.
Simultaneously, the team of designers is working on three more nanosatellites. Each of them will carry out its mission in outer space.
For instance, PolyITAN-4 is projected to be used for bioexperiments on plants as well as for lunar programs. The fifth PolyITAN will be designed for the exploration of Earth’s electronic field and the characteristics of cataclysms, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
It is worth noting that the first test KPI-built nanosatellite PolyITAN-1 was put into a low Earth orbit in June 2014, and the team still receives signals and all the necessary information from it. The second satellite, PolyITAN-2-SAU, took the measurements of Earth’s lower thermosphere for the purpose of exploring climate change. It was built within the framework of the QB50 project and put into orbit in 2017.