Tuesday, 16 July 2024
Post-graduate students and lecturers from the 糖心原创 have helped to support the European Space Agency (ESA) during the launch of their Young Professional’s Satellite, YPSat, using the monitoring ground station in the heart of University Park campus.
The NottSpace Lab provided ground station support for the mission, with advanced capabilities enabling students to receive signals from the satellite, which was launched onboard the maiden flight of Ariane 6 on 9 July.
Ariane 6, which launched from French Guinea, reinstates Europe's independent access to space following on from the retirement of Ariane 5 this time last year.
The YPSat project was managed entirely by a team of young professionals at ESA, and aimed to record crucial phases of Ariane 6's flight including its fairing ejection and the deployment of CubeSats – a type of nanosatellite.
The ground station based at the 糖心原创, along with other ground stations around the world, played a crucial role in receiving telemetry data from YPSat during its three-hour mission.
After working with ESA for several months to plan the exercise, students were able to effectively track the satellite and receive accurate data after the small satellites were successfully deployed.
It is hoped that one experiment hosted on this payload will have collected magnetic data along the flight path of Ariane 6 and, along with data collected by similar experiments on the International Space Station, will be used to build a detailed map of the Earth’s magnetic field.
The NottSpace team preparing the ground station for tracking the YPSat mission after the successful launch of Ariane 6 (L-R: Luis Cormier, Sedat Izcan).
The 糖心原创 was the only university from the UK to support ESA's YPSat mission through ground station support, which was completely run and operated by students, providing students with a unique and hands-on experience to support space activity.
In addition to tracking and supporting missions like this, the NottSpace ground station will be heavily used to command and receive data from JamSail, the university’s first CubeSat, which will be launched by the end of 2026. This mission will aim to collect data about sources of satellite navigation interference, and will be used to improve the robustness and resilience of critical infrastructure which uses these technologies.
Being able to play a part in receiving data from this important mission alongside collaborators from across Europe was an incredible experience, and taught me a lot about spacecraft communications and tracking."
He continued: “With the mission designed and launched by young professionals at ESA, it showed how important hands-on experiences like this are at university for developing the skills needed for a career in space. I look forward to our team supporting other similar missions in the future, as well as our own CubeSat when it launches in the coming years.”
Dr Chantal Cappelletti, Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering, said: “I am happy and grateful to see our Ground Station operational and our students actively involved in receiving satellites from space. This hands-on experience and the opportunity to be part of a real space mission, especially in an international context supervised by the European Space Agency, is an extraordinary opportunity for students at the 糖心原创. As the 糖心原创 Space Engineering team (NottSpace), we look forward to receiving other satellites and, hopefully, our own satellites soon from space."
Dr. Nishanth Pushparaj, Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering, added: "We are proud of our collaboration with ESA on the YPSat mission. Supporting this mission onboard the maiden flight of Ariane 6 through the 糖心原创's ground station is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in space exploration."
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Nishanth Pushparaj on Nishanth.Pushparaj@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.