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AlSat Nano launch

Air October 3, 2016

Monday 26^th September saw AlSat Nano – a joint CubeSat mission between the UK Space Agency and Algerian Space Agency, successfully launched from India.

Contact with the satellite was established shortly after launch and orbital injection from the Surrey Space Centre (University of Surrey) ground station in Guildford. A number of spacecraft health checks and in orbit commissioning procedures will now be carried out and operations will then transition to Algeria’s newly developed AlSat Nano ground station in Oran.

AlSat Nano launch

The joint programme was established in March 2014, with the UK Space Agency and ASAL signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration in their space programmes, which has culminated in this joint nanosatellite mission.

A specific action was identified following the MoU, which involved the establishment of a joint educational CubeSat development programme for Algerian graduate students which is being delivered by Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey (SSC).

This is Algeria’s first CubeSat mission, with the design, build and verification of the Nano spacecraft taking place at SSC as a hands-on learning exercise for the students. ASAL has provided the launch, and operations are being undertaken by Algerian operators trained at SSC.

The Surrey Space Centre is providing the practical elements of the PhD courses, as well as applied research modules which address some issues development of the technology in Algeria presents, such as its geographical size and natural environment, including resource management, forest fires, floods, earth quakes, droughts and desertification.

Algerian operators and students will work closely with SSC and the UK payload providers to command the payloads and interpret the data returned for research purposes, and have been closely involved throughout the development programme. These arrangements provide the potential for future collaborative opportunities as Algeria develops its domestic space programme, as well as globally showcasing the capability of UK technology in offering low cost solutions for remote sensing and scientific instrumentation.

AlSat Nano has dimensions of just 30x10x10cm, yet still features all the core subsystems of much larger satellites, helping to demonstrate the practical elements of low cost space technology.

Almost all of the hardware for the system has been sourced exclusively form UK suppliers, while one third of its volume has been made available to the UK CubeSat community as a free technology demonstration flight opportunity for self-funded payloads, via an open call and competitive selection process

It is hoped that the project will help Algeria strengthen its domestic space technology capability, as well as showcase the technology to developing nations who currently find space technology prohibitively expensive. Nanosatellite missions offer the possibility to overcome this constraint by providing access at significantly reduced costs. The training and knowledge transfer, delivered by Surrey Space Centre to Algerian students and Algerian Space Agency engineers and satellite operators, is building long term technological capability in a developing space nation.

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Algeria ASAL nanosatellite satellite Space Surrey Space centre UK UK CubeSat UK Space Agency

Post written by: Vicky Maggiani

Vicky has worked in media for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.