SSETI Express (satellite)

SSETI Express was the first spacecraft to be designed and built by European students and was launched by the European Space Agency. SSETI Express (Student Space Exploration & Technology Initiative) is a small spacecraft, similar in size and shape to a washing machine. On board the student-built spacecraft were three CubeSat picosatellites, extremely small satellites weighing around one kg each. These were deployed one hour and forty minutes after launch. Twenty-one university groups, working from locations spread across Europe and with very different cultural backgrounds, worked together via the internet to jointly create the satellite. The expected lifetime of the mission was planned to be 2 months. SSETI Express encountered an unusually fast mission development: less than 18 months from kick-off in January 2004 to flight-readiness.

The three picosatellites on board the spacecraft were:

Its primary mission is the demonstration of newly developed solar cells in space. Other mission objectives include the acquisition of Earth images by a commercial off-the-shelf digital camera and the operation of a message transmission service using an amateur radio frequency.

The main objective of UWE-1, is to conduct telecommunication experiments related to the optimisation of an internet-related infrastructure for space applications.

This contains an automated identification system (AIS) used to receive GPS signals. The AIS signals from Ncube-2 are detected and forwarded to Ncube ground stations, allowing them to track the satellite.

The purpose of Express is to take pictures of the Earth, act as a test-bed and technology demonstrator for ESEO (European Student Earth Orbiter) hardware for a launch in 2007, and also function as a radio transponder for the global amateur radio community. It is a pilot project for the SSETI student community and a demonstration of how ESA experts can support student initiatives. As well as this, it is meant to be an inspiration for other educational satellite programmes, but also a logistical precursor to the future SSETI microsatellite projects.

The ground stations that manage the satellite when it is in orbit are as follows;

The main mission ground station consists of tracking antennas, an Ultra high frequency (UHF) radio, an S-Band to Very high frequency (VHF) down-converter, a VHF radio, a Terminal Node Controller (TNC) and a controlling computer. It is the primary command station for controlling the spacecraft.