{"id":3913,"date":"2021-06-10T11:16:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T10:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/?p=3913"},"modified":"2023-06-21T09:19:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T08:19:16","slug":"soaring-with-spacex-uom-launches-first-ever-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/2021\/06\/10\/soaring-with-spacex-uom-launches-first-ever-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"SOARing with SpaceX: UoM launches first-ever satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here at Manchester we’re used to reaching for the stars, but this time we’ve gone one step further – and launched our very own satellite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aiming to revolutionise Earth observation satellites, DISCOVERER<\/a> is a \u20ac5.7 million project – led by The University of Manchester, in collaboration with, among others, Nanoracks, the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London, and GOMSpace – that truly is out of this world.<\/p>\n

Or, to be more precise, in very low Earth orbit (VLEO).<\/p>\n

The groundbreaking research seeks to develop technologies that will better enable VLEO, and produce satellites that are smaller, lighter, and more cost-efficient.<\/p>\n

And last week, on 3 June at 6.29pm BST, the Satellite for Orbital Aerodynamics Research (SOAR)<\/a> – a 3U CubeSat launched on SpaceX’s CRS-22 mission – finally had lift off…<\/p>\n

\"Cubesat
A visualisation of the CubeSat orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breaking new ground<\/h2>\n

The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and headed to the International Space Station. From there, SOAR will be deployed into orbit. A team at Manchester will then control the satellite from the ground – right here on campus.<\/p>\n

It might all sound like something from Star Wars, but it’s what the project could achieve that’s providing A New Hope for researchers. Once in orbit, the satellite will get to work – studying the residual atmosphere and associated gas-surface interactions in VLEO.<\/p>\n

Data received from SOAR will then be used for various purposes, including the study of interactions between the residual atmosphere in low orbits, and the study of new materials – developed here at the University – that could lead to both drag reduction and an increase in aerodynamic performance.<\/p>\n

As Dr Peter Roberts<\/a>, Scientific Coordinator for DISCOVERER and a Reader in Spacecraft Engineering in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering<\/a>, notes: “The satellite represents the culmination of a huge amount of technology development over many years.<\/p>\n

“We’re breaking new ground with a satellite designed specifically to explore aerodynamic effects in very low Earth orbits, whilst simultaneously measuring atmospheric parameters such as density and composition.”<\/p>\n