Satellite technology
developed by Northumbria University scientists has been adapted for a new, European
Space Agency (ESA) funded mission, which will see a “swarm” of satellites sent
into space to address the growing threat of space debris.
News of the
project comes after the US government recently issued its first ever fine to a
company for leaving space junk orbiting the Earth.
Space debris
poses a huge problem for global communication systems and space exploration
efforts. Now, the University of Warwick-led ‘Revealing the Orbital and
Atmospheric Responses to Solar activity’ (ROARS) project, aims to tackle the
problem with a “swarm” of satellites.
By
distributing scientific instruments across multiple smaller inter-linked
spacecraft, a “swarm” will possess observational capabilities far in excess of
a standard, large satellite.
The mission
idea has led to a 26 institution-strong consortium from across nine countries,
with a core team leading the study from Northumbria, Warwick, Birmingham, Bath,
UCL, Stuttgart, Imperial and Calgary universities, alongside industrial
partner, OpenCosmos, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, USA, the
Space Research Institute, Austria, and Southwest Research Institute in the USA.
The team are
examining how the swarm of small satellites known as CubeSats, which are about
the size of a microwave, can fly in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), just 500 km above
the Earth, a region home to exponentially growing satellite
mega-constellations. They hope the swarm can provide a “missing” set of
measurements necessary to accurately predict and prevent satellite and debris
collisions.
Northumbria
University is a leading centre for CubeSat research and earlier this year was
awarded £5 million from the UK Space Agency to develop a new laser-based CubeSat system, which has the potential to transform the satellite
communications industry.
The system
being designed for that project will also be used in the laser ranging system of
the ROARS CubeSat – providing an alternative use for this innovative technology.
The
Northumbria University CubeSat team is led by solar physicist Professor Eamon Scullion. Speaking about ROARS, he said: “The Northumbria laser communications
instrument forms a critical part of the payload of ROARS, enabling unique space
science measurements, through coordinating the relative positions of the
satellites in its laser ranging camp ability, with millimetre precision. This
is a great example of the many different functionalities of this technology,
and we’re excited about its future potential.”
The multiple
satellites feature a dizzying array of new technologies. These include the
latest atmospheric and magnetic field sensors, state-of-the art global
navigation satellite systems (including GPS) and inter-satellite laser
communications. A further integral mission component is ground radar, laser and
optical observations, including from University of Warwick’s SuperWASP
observatory on La Palma, Canary Islands.
The team will
investigate how satellite drag from the Earth’s upper atmosphere; a force on
near-Earth orbiting satellites, is modulated by solar activity and space weather. When solar
storms interact with the Earth’s magnetic field they are responsible for the
impressive Northern and Southern Lights (Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis),
but they can also heat our upper atmosphere and play havoc with spacecraft
trajectories.
In February
2022, 40 Starlink satellites were lost, due to the effects of successive solar storms
which caused a large atmospheric expansion and increased atmospheric drag, and
ultimately caused the satellites to burn up in the upper atmosphere.
Dr Ravindra
Desai, of University of Warwick’s Centre for Fusion, Space & Astrophysics and
Principal Investigator of the mission, said: “This mission concept seeks to
comprehensively understand how space weather deposits energy into our upper
atmosphere, and how this threatens the satellites we increasingly depend upon
for our day-to-day lives.
“We hope this
will provide a step change in our ability to safely use our space environment
and enable ESA’s Terrae Novae vision to provide Low Earth Orbit as a safe haven
for further exploration of the moon and Mars.”
A further
important factor in the swarm design is the ability for collision avoidance
manoeuvres and safe deorbit within five years at the end of life. This is
important so that the swarm itself doesn’t contribute to the very problem it is
trying to address.
ESA released
the £86 million (€100 million) campaign for Innovative Mission Concepts Enabled
by Swarms of CubeSats at the start of this year and received 74 submissions,
from which seven were competitively selected for Phase 0 funding to develop
their concepts towards a flight opportunity.
You can read
the European Space Agency press releases here: ESA - Seven ways to use a CubeSat swarm and CubeSats for improving space safety.
Image credit: Debris objects - mostly debris - in low Earth orbit (LEO) - view over the equator. Copyright European Space Agency - ESA
