Session
Pre-Conference Workshop Session VII: Instruments/Science II
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The ArgoMoon Nanosatellite, developed by the Italian company Argotec for the Italian Space Agency, will be launched in 2021, during the maiden flight of the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) named Artemis-1 mission. ArgoMoon will be the first microsatellite to be released by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) and it will acquire significant pictures of ICPS itself. It will perform proximity flight around the secondary stage of the launcher by means of autonomous imaging and tracking subsystems, thus allowing the CubeSat to remain close to the target, in order to capture high resolution pictures with technical and outreach purposes. After this first phase, orbital manoeuvers will move the satellite in a geocentric highly elliptic orbit, whose apogee is high enough to allow flybys and imaging of the Moon and the surrounding environment. This second part of the mission will last six months prior to the CubeSat disposal in a heliocentric orbit. ArgoMoon mission will allow testing the platform in the severe environment of Deep Space, imposing severe propulsive maneuvers and long-distance communications. The technical solutions to meet challenging requirements and mission objectives have been implemented by Argotec in a robust CubeSat platform.
ArgoMoon: Italian CubeSat Technology to Record the Maiden Flight of SLS Towards the Moon
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The ArgoMoon Nanosatellite, developed by the Italian company Argotec for the Italian Space Agency, will be launched in 2021, during the maiden flight of the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) named Artemis-1 mission. ArgoMoon will be the first microsatellite to be released by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) and it will acquire significant pictures of ICPS itself. It will perform proximity flight around the secondary stage of the launcher by means of autonomous imaging and tracking subsystems, thus allowing the CubeSat to remain close to the target, in order to capture high resolution pictures with technical and outreach purposes. After this first phase, orbital manoeuvers will move the satellite in a geocentric highly elliptic orbit, whose apogee is high enough to allow flybys and imaging of the Moon and the surrounding environment. This second part of the mission will last six months prior to the CubeSat disposal in a heliocentric orbit. ArgoMoon mission will allow testing the platform in the severe environment of Deep Space, imposing severe propulsive maneuvers and long-distance communications. The technical solutions to meet challenging requirements and mission objectives have been implemented by Argotec in a robust CubeSat platform.
