KRAKsat mission
Scientific satellite
KRAKsat is an academic space engineering project focused on sending a satellite with a scientific payload into space. Conducted by students of AGH University of Science and Technology and Jagiellonian University in cooperation with SatRevolution, it is focused on developing scientific satellite using ferrofluid for attitude control. Not only is it one of the first Cubesat type satellites in Poland, but also the first satellite in the world to use this kind of innovative technology.
A flight into space
Despite its little size, KRAKsat had a huge task to complete. It travelled on the board the Cygnus ship and the Antares rocket until, in April 2019, it reached the International Space Station. The satellite was intended to be deployed from ISS into space at the height of 400 km.
On Wednesday, 17 April, at 10:46 p.m. Polish time, the Antares 230 rocket with KRAKsat on board took off from Wallops Flight Facility. Two days later, the KRAKsat, placed on board the ship Cygnus, docked to the International Space Station. There it awaited its release into space.
The satellite entered proper orbit on July 3rd at 1:50 p.m. CEST. It was launched from the Japanese Kibo module using an automatic deployer. The event was streamed live.
Experiment
The main task for the satellite was to investigate the behavior of ferrofluid in space conditions. It is intended to be used as a flywheel in outer space, where there is no gravity, by being put in rotating motion in a magnetic field. According to the the law of conservation of angular momentum, this will affect the angular velocity of the satellite itself. The experiment consists of a torus surrounded with eight electromagnets and with fluid-ferrofluid inside. By means of a changing magnetic field, the ferrofluid in the system is accelerated, which causes it to spin. The effect of this movement should be to cause the rotation of the satellite in the opposite direction. The satellite was designed to measure temperature, magnetic field and other factors examined using its presence in space. During this time it was prepared to cope with extreme conditions in the ionosphere, such as high temperature amplitude (from -45°C to 85°C!), low pressure, microgravity, ionized gases. After two years of continuous measurements and experiments, the satellite will lose its speed and burn in the atmosphere.
Social campaign
To take advantage of this unique opportunity, our satellite had an additional mission: to give a chance to space enthusiasts from all over Poland to be part of our mission. Inside the satellite there was an SD card with materials sent by Internet users, which entered the orbit together with the KRAKsat. Thanks to the involvement of schools and space enthusiasts of all ages, the card contained over 1200 exceptional works. Below is a collage of the received works.
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