Author: Scanway
Publication date:
On Tuesday 3 January, a few minutes before 5.00 pm Polish time and approximately 60 minutes after launch from Cape Canaveral, at an altitude of 538 km, the STAR VIBE satellite – a joint venture between the Wrocław-based company Scanway and the German firm German Orbital Systems – was released from the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing. Shortly after 7.00 pm, it was confirmed that two-way communication with the ground station had been successfully established.
This is a demonstration mission for two in-house developed systems – a small Earth-observation telescope called STAR and a satellite self-inspection system called VIBE.
The aim of the mission is to test the STAR telescope and VIBE technology in space conditions, as well as to raise the technology readiness level to the highest, ninth level. To this end, the impact of space conditions (vacuum, temperature fluctuations, high levels of radiation and microgravity) on the telescope’s components, the on-board electronics and the quality of the data collected will be assessed.
The STAR telescope operates in the visible light spectrum. Its sensor enables images to be captured at a resolution of 25 metres per pixel and provides a wide field of view (102.4 x 76.8 km). This enables rapid data collection for a wide range of purposes, such as monitoring climate change, natural disasters, or gathering data to support efficient agriculture.
VIBE is an optical system that forms part of the SHS (Spacecraft Health Scanner) system being developed by Scanway – a system designed for the autonomous diagnostics of nanosatellites. VIBE is, in effect, a vision system mounted on a deployable boom. The camera is connected to the spacecraft’s on-board computer, which, by storing images in its database, enables the analysis of the collected data using artificial intelligence capable of detecting various types of damage, such as damage to solar panels.
< 0 >VIBE – or SHS (Spacecraft Health Scanner) – a device for the autonomous diagnosis of the condition of satellites in orbit
The STAR VIBE mission is unique for the Polish space sector, primarily because it involves the deployment of the VIBE instrument, which is the first Polish optical instrument designed for the self-inspection of orbital infrastructure and is equipped with an artificial intelligence-based algorithm.