Prague, Oct 6 (CTK) – The first Czech nanosatellite, VZLUSAT-1, released into space in a rocket carrying multiple satellites in India, has been orbiting the Earth for 106 days to test commercial technologies in orbit demonstration (IOD), its authors from the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU) said on Friday.
Vladimir Daniel, the chief designer, told reporters that three technologies were being tested, composite-based materials, a miniaturised X-ray telescope and the FIPEX oxygen level measuring instrument.
It is the first ever Czech satellite verifying commercial technologies in the space, Daniel said.
A number of companies developing new technologies supplied various equipment for the satellite, such as a radiation shield designed by the 5M company, humidity sensors by the Innovatice Sensor company, an anti-radiation system by the TTS company and an X-ray optical system by the Rigaku company, whose tipping technology was co-designed by the HVM Plasma company.
HVM Plasma also focuses on thin layers’ development, which were used for protection and elimination of friction in the satellite.
Two universities got involved in the project, the University of West Bohemia (ZCU) and the Czech Technical University (CVUT). ZCU was specifically responsible for the transmission of data from the Earth to the satellite and vice versa.
CVUT’s Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics developed a detector for the X-ray telescope and also supplied the USB Lite interface. The institute took part in other space projects as well and it currently cooperates on a satellite developed by Japanese scientists.
The satellite is impacted by cosmic radiation in the orbit, which is gradually destroying it. Daniel said about 30 percent of its memory has currently been damaged and that the scientists know it is dying and expect it to fall to the Earth within five years, burning in its atmosphere.
VZLU’s director Josef Kaspar said the next satellite, VZLUSAT-2, is being developed and that it should take off within three to four years.
The VZLUSAT-1 project was supported by the Czech Technological Agency (TACR) as part of its Alfa programme. TACR’s chairman Petr Ocko said the project has a strategic significance for the Czech Republic.
