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First test-launch of India-made star sensor that finds direction of a satellite in space successful | India News
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NEW DELHI: A new low-cost star sensor, developed by astronomers from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) from off-the-shelf components and was recently put into space by Isro’s PSLV C-55 on April 22, has started functioning properly in its first test-launch.
Named ‘StarBerrySense’, the main function of the payload is to quickly and accurately calculate where a satellite is pointing in space as for any space mission, it is crucial to know the exact positioning of the satellite. The start sensor is capable of finding its pointing direction in space by identifying the stars in its field of view.
The astronomers from the Space Payloads Group at the IIA have announced that not only has StarBerrySense withstood the harsh conditions in space and is functioning as expected, the initial data shows that it is able to calculate the pointing direction.The StarBerrySense payload is being tested in space for the very first time.
“This payload is built around the well-known minicomputer RaspberryPi, and the electronics and software were designed in-house,” said Bharat Chandra, the technical lead of the project and a PhD student at IIA. “The advantage of this payload is that it is cost-effective, simple to build, and can be deployed on a wide variety of satellites,” he added.
“StarBerrySense was mounted on Isro’s PSLV orbital experimental module (POEM), which provides a stable platform for our payload to operate from. POEM is a unique initiative by Isro that utilises the spent fourth stage of the PSLV rocket as an orbital platform for carrying out scientific experiments. It is an excellent opportunity to conduct short-term scientific experiments in space,” said Rekhesh Mohan, the principal investigator of the StarBerrySense project.
The main function of StarBerrySense is to image the field of view, correctly identify the stars it sees, and calculate the pointing direction. Shubhangi Jain from the team said, “Analysis of the preliminary data has confirmed that the imaging equipment works as expected, and the onboard software is able to calculate the pointing direction.”
Named ‘StarBerrySense’, the main function of the payload is to quickly and accurately calculate where a satellite is pointing in space as for any space mission, it is crucial to know the exact positioning of the satellite. The start sensor is capable of finding its pointing direction in space by identifying the stars in its field of view.
The astronomers from the Space Payloads Group at the IIA have announced that not only has StarBerrySense withstood the harsh conditions in space and is functioning as expected, the initial data shows that it is able to calculate the pointing direction.The StarBerrySense payload is being tested in space for the very first time.
“This payload is built around the well-known minicomputer RaspberryPi, and the electronics and software were designed in-house,” said Bharat Chandra, the technical lead of the project and a PhD student at IIA. “The advantage of this payload is that it is cost-effective, simple to build, and can be deployed on a wide variety of satellites,” he added.
“StarBerrySense was mounted on Isro’s PSLV orbital experimental module (POEM), which provides a stable platform for our payload to operate from. POEM is a unique initiative by Isro that utilises the spent fourth stage of the PSLV rocket as an orbital platform for carrying out scientific experiments. It is an excellent opportunity to conduct short-term scientific experiments in space,” said Rekhesh Mohan, the principal investigator of the StarBerrySense project.
The main function of StarBerrySense is to image the field of view, correctly identify the stars it sees, and calculate the pointing direction. Shubhangi Jain from the team said, “Analysis of the preliminary data has confirmed that the imaging equipment works as expected, and the onboard software is able to calculate the pointing direction.”
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