CHIPS Spacecraft - Nanosats Database

Spacecraft name	CHIPS (Cubesat with HIgh Performance for Skyhopper)
Spacecraft type	CubeSat
Units or mass	12U
Status	not launched, expected in 2026
Launcher	not launched
Organization	Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF)
Institution	Institute
Entity type	Government (Civil / Military)
Nation	Italy
Manufacturer	AIVT by ?
Operator	?
Partners	Politecnico di Milano
Oneliner	Infrared telescope with the focal plane chamber actively cooled for observational astronomy missions.
Description	Has the following scientific goals: identify the Gamma Ray Bursts that originate in the early Universe, identify infrared counterparts of gravitational wave sources, discover potentially habitable Earth-like planets around nearby cold stars, study the Near-Earth Asteroid family. The payload consists of an infrared telescope with the focal plane chamber actively cooled. To achieve these results CHIPS will have to implement various technological innovations for a CubeSat: Provide stable pointing with rapid re-targeting capability, within 120s of a trigger, have the satellite's attitude controlled by mini star trackers and reaction wheels capable of rotating the satellite at a speed of 3 deg s-1 and maintaining a pointing accuracy better than 5 arc seconds, implement continuous communication capability, via an IRIDIUM modem, while an S-band radio antenna will provide data transfer. In addition, an in-orbit technology demonstration is planned to demonstrate autonomous navigation capability. The platform is also suitable for accurate observations of the Earth, as well as of the sky, for example to observe the trend of glaciers, for the surveillance of forest fires or for applications in precision agriculture.
Sources	[1]
Photo sources	[1]
Keywords	Globalstar or Iridium or Inmarsat

Last modified: 2023-10-21