The capital of the Alps will soon be present in space thanks to AMICal Sat. This small satellite manufactured by the Grenoble Space Center (CSUG) will leave Monday or Tuesday (depending on weather conditions) from the center of Kourou in French Guiana, on board the Vega rocket which will carry 52 other satellites. The launch can be followed live, at 3:51 am, on the Arianespace site. AMICal Sat is a nano satellite: it is the size of a milk carton, weighs 2 kg 300 and has a dimension of 20 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm.
"It is the fruit of a very beautiful adventure which started in 2017. About fifty students from the University of Grenoble participated in its conception", specifies Mathieu Barthélémy, director of the CSUG. Several local companies also contributed to this project. The small Grenoble satellite will be placed in orbit 530 km from Earth. It will circle the planet 15 times in 24 hours, and will pass over the poles.
Data transmitted near Moscow
“The mission of AMICal Sat will be to observe and study the aurora borealis from space, which is caused by particles coming from the sun. These particles, charged with electricity, can cause disturbances on large electrical networks and cause them to trip, disrupt GPS, radio communications, damage satellites ”, explains Mathieu Barthélémy.
The data provided by AMICal Sat will be transmitted to a station located near Moscow, because the Grenoble Space Center is working on this project with the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the University of Moscow. Radio amateurs will also be asked to recover the information provided. Finally, the images of the northern lights taken from space by the small Grenoble satellite will soon be visible on a website.