Guardian - Alpha @ Nanosats Database

Name	Guardian - Alpha
Type	CubeSat
Units or mass	3U
Status	not launched, expected in 2023
Organisation	OrbAstro (Orbital Astronautics)
Institution	Company
Entity	Commercial
Nation	UK
Manufacturer	AIVT by OrbAstro (Orbital Astronautics)
Operator	OrbAstro (Orbital Astronautics)
Launch brokerer	Momentus
Oneliner	Demonstrate a variety of technologies including an UltraScale+ high-performance computer.
Description	Demonstrate a variety of technologies including an UltraScale+ high-performance computer coupled with a constellation management system based on an artificial neural network, a novel electrical power system, a compact attitude determination and control system, and a new thermal management system. After the in-orbit demonstration, OrbAstro plans to launch its own cluster of formation flying nanosatellites to test remaining technologies the firm is developing, before focusing on the needs of larger constellations. Included: Ultrascale+ based OBC Novel long-life EPS, 36Wh Full ADCS with dual star-trackers and GPS SDR S-band transceiver Electric Propulsion 3rd-party hosted payloads Solar panels Ultra-light aluminium-carbon chassis COTS redundant UHF transceiver and solar panel are included to de-risk. They will also de-risk our Guardian satellites. Total satellite mass is 1.66kg (not including 3rd-party hosted payloads & COTS redundant systems). When the build-trigger was pulled, nuts/bolts to flight-qualified satellite shipped out the door: 5 days. There were some teething issues. Our aim for the Dec mission is 3 days. We are building batch-production capabilities with a lot of automation involved. More on that in a later post.
Sources	[1] [2]
Photo Sources	[1]
Keywords	Propulsion

Last modified: 2023-01-06
Detailed Guardian - Alpha entry in the Database
Full Nanosats Database (much more data)