CELESTA, Launched on the ESA's Vega-C This Week, Aims to Study Radiation's Effects on Electronics
Weighing just 2.2lbs, the CELESTA satellite uses technology developed for the LHC to monitor radiation's effects on electronics.
The Organisation Européene pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) has announced a successful launch for its first spacefaring hardware: a CubeSat dubbed CELESTA, carrying the Space RadMon sensor, designed to study how cosmic radiation affects electronics.
"Based entirely on standardized, ultra-sensitive components selected and calibrated by CERN, and mostly in CERN facilities, the Space RadMon is a lightweight and low-power instrument, ideal for future risk-tolerant space missions," says Ruben Garcia Alia, leader of the Radiation To Electronics (R2E) project behind the satellite. "If CELESTA is successful, the Space RadMon could even be adapted to satellite constellations as a predictive maintenance tool – to anticipate the necessary renewal of satellites."
The CELESTA satellite is built to the CubeSat standard, taking up just 10cm (around 3.94") on each side and weighing around 1kg (2.2lbs). Its mission: To visit the inner Van Allen Belt and survey an orbit where radiation levels are at their highest, finding out exactly what the does to electronic devices.
That radiation monitoring mission will be driven by Space RadMon, a sensor originally designed for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) but now miniaturized ready for deployment in space. The payload and satellite were tested in CERN's CHARM facility, designed to simulate the radiation environment of a low-Earth orbit, before launching this week aboard the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Vega-C launch vehicle's maiden flight.
"On a mission to make space more accessible, CELESTA is an exciting example of how CERN expertise can have a positive impact on the aerospace industry," claims CERN's Enrico Chesta. "With this mission, CERN displays its low-cost solutions for measuring radiation and testing satellites against it — thus providing universities, companies and startups with the means to realise their space ambitions."
More information on CELESTA, which was developed in collaboration with students and staff at the Centre Spatial of Montpellier University (CSUM), can be found on the official CERN mission page.