ION Satellite Carrier

ION Satellite Carrier (formerly ION CubeSat Carrier) is a satellite platform developed, manufactured, and operated by Italian company D-Orbit. The platform features a customizable 64U satellite dispenser capable of hosting a combination of CubeSats that fits the volume. Throughout a mission, ION Satellite Carrier can release the hosted satellites individually, changing orbital parameter between one deployment and the next.[2] Each of the miniature CubeSats weighs a few kilograms.

ION Satellite Carrier
NamesInOrbit NOW
Mission typeCubeSat deployer, Technology demonstration
OperatorD-Orbit
Websiteinorbitnow.space/ion/
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftION Satellite Carrier
Spacecraft typeION Satellite Carrier
ManufacturerD-Orbit[1]
Launch mass~100kg
Start of mission
Launch date3 September 2020
RocketVega VV16
Launch siteGuiana Space Centre
ContractorArianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous orbit
Eccentricity~0
Apogee altitude500 km
InOrbit NOW
 

The organization also developed a D3 (D-Orbit Decommissioning Device) system, which has obtained funding from the European Commission and the European Space Agency, to safely dispose of satellites at the end of their lives and avoid adding to the problems created by the approximately 130 million pieces of space debris. According to D-Orbit, a space circular economy is feasible, and space recycling will soon be a new sector. This will involve using local resources such as dead satellites to create spaceships in space.[3][4]

The inaugural mission, named Origin, was launched on Vega flight VV16 from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on September 3, 2020.[5] The vehicle, named ION SCV Lucas, carried 12 SuperDove satellites from Planet_Labs. On September 25th, ION SCV Lucas released successfully the first SuperDove satellite of the batch; the last satellite was deployed on October 28th. ID-Orbit plans to launch at least three more ION missions in 2021. [6]

D-Orbit is a successful alumnus of the European Space Agency's incubator, ESA BIC Portugal, and the two firms collaborated on Project Sunrise, an active debris removal project, in 2019.[3][7]

Mission overview

The carrier deployed CubeSats one by one using a spring release mechanism once positioned in a sun-synchronous orbit at 500 km. The 60 cm cubic dispenser allows for several combinations of 1U, 2U, 3U, 3U+, 6U, 6U+, 12U and 12U+ Cubesats along the vertical axis. After completion of the up to one month long deployment phase, ION CubeSat Carrier will initiate a validation phase of its payloads directly integrated on the platform.[8]

See also

References
  1. "D-Orbit Signs Contract for Launch and Deployment Services with Planet Labs – Parabolic Arc". Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  2. "D-Orbit launches its first ION Satellite Carrier". www.spacenewsfeed.com. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  3. "D-Orbit brings tiny nano satellites to space for collecting climate change data". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  4. "Mitigating space debris generation". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  5. Clark, Stephen. "Cluster of international satellites ready for ride into orbit on Vega rocket – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  6. "D-Orbit Satellite Carrier delivers Planet SuperDoves to desired orbits". spacenews.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  7. "Stories: Meet D-Orbit, the EIC-funded startup cleaning up space junk in orbit | European Innovation Council". community-smei.easme-web.eu. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  8. "ION". InOrbit Now (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-03-19.
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