The size of a cereal box: ESA’s first satellite of 2018


Enabling & Support The size of a cereal box: ESA’s first satellite of 2018 02/02/2018 7634 views 87 likes ESA’s first mission of the year was launched today: GomX-4B is the Agency’s most advanced technology-tester yet, featuring a hyperspectral camera and tiny thrusters to manoeuvre thousands of kilometres from its near-twin to try out their radio link. These CubeSats are built around standard 10x10 cm units by GomSpace in Denmark. “ESA is harnessing CubeSats as a fast, cheap method of testing promising European technologies in orbit,” comments Roger Walker, heading ESA’s technology CubeSat efforts. The focus of Denmark’s GomX-4A on imaging includes monitoring Arctic territory. It carries no thrusters but the agile GomX-4B will fly behind it, allowing the pair to test their radio link across various distances up to 4500 km.


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