| Satellite | ANDESITE Mule (Ad-Hoc Network Demonstration for Extended Satellite-Based Inquiry and Other Team Endeavors) |
|---|---|
| Spacecraft type | CubeSat |
| Units or mass | 6U |
| Status | No signal? (Jonathan McDowell was not able to get a reply from the team in March 2022) |
| Launched | 2020-06-13 |
| NORAD ID | 45726 |
| Deployer | Maxwell [Rocket Lab],? |
| Launcher | Electron (ELaNa 32) |
| Organization | Boston University |
| Institution | University |
| Entity type | Academic / Education |
| Nation | US |
| Oneliner |
Deploys 8 small picosatellites to create space-based wireless network. |
| Description |
Deploys 8 small picosatellites. "ANDESITE is a 6U CubeSat that deploys several smaller “pico-satellites” that each have their own self-contained scientific magnetometer, power system and radio communication system. Space-Based Wireless Sensor Network (SB-WSN) that addresses the limit of individual satellites’ ability to spatially and temporally resolve the information on various space phenomena. The satellites collect data in a loosely held swarm, relaying the data back to the main spacecraft and down to the Earth through the GlobalStar sat-phone network. The data obtained from this mission will help map the current sheets of Region 1 and Region 2 Birkeland currents. It will also provide solid new constraints for models of auroral particle acceleration, wave particle interactions, ionospheric destabilization and other kinetic processes operating in the low-beta plasma of near Earth magnetosphere. |
| Notes |
Larger network planned. |
| Sources | [1] [2] [3] [4] |
| Photo sources | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] |
| Keywords | Globalstar or Iridium or Inmarsat |
| On the same launch |
Last modified: 2024-05-28
