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They’re called Net-Sats, they’re as big as a shoebox, and they’re supposed to accomplish great things over the net – four Würzburg mini satellites are launched today aboard a Soyuz rocket.
By Josef Lindner, BR
Today, Klaus Schilling and his team at the Würzburg Center for Telematics are looking forward to Russia. A Soyuz rocket is launched at the Plesezk spaceport and carries four satellites developed in Würzburg into space.
Strength through networking
The smallest satellites are about the size of a shoebox and weigh four kilograms. What’s special about this: so-called Net-Sats can be organized and positioned. This requires sophisticated control technology.
Information from individual satellites is collected and assembled like a puzzle. This is how they create three-dimensional images that they send to earth. The Würzburg scientists worked on the technology for about six years.
The countdown is running
The pitcher is launched in the early afternoon of our time. The plan: It only launches three large communications satellites at an altitude of 1,500 kilometers. Then it sinks. The Würzburg minisatellites are 600 kilometers above the earth. That will probably happen around 6pm today
At this point, however, the Würzburg team has no radio contact. A connection is only possible when the Net-Sats rush directly into Würzburg. If all goes well, that will be the case tomorrow. Then the systems will be activated and by the end of the week all four minisatellites should be providing data from space. Therefore, it will remain exciting for the Würzburg space researchers even after the start.
Strengthening Bavaria as a research site
Franconian scientists are experts in mini satellites. They want to show that networked mini satellites can achieve great things. Small devices can measure clouds, for example, and thus make important contributions to meteorology. The Bavarian Ministry of the Economy supports research at the Würzburg Center for Telematics. Prime Minister Markus Söder wants to strengthen Bavaria as a commercial location with his space project “Bavaria One”.
In any case, the minisatellites attract young scientists to Lower Franconia. The University of Würzburg also offers the international Spacemaster course. “We see huge opportunities to locate future jobs in Bavaria and Franconia,” says Klaus Schilling of the Center for Telematics.
More missions planned
All the results of this mission will flow into the next Earth observation project. The “TIM – International Telematics Mission” is scheduled for 2021. The Würzburg Center for Telematics coordinates partners from five continents to use nine satellites to use 3D Earth observations for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and ship movements. .
