LASARsat
LASARsat is a Czech scientific microsatellite, which was launched on December 21, 2024.
The LASARsat mission is a continuation of the Czech high school team LASAR, which won the Conrad Challenge, a global STEM competition held in Houston. The satellite is designed to test the possibilities of using high-power lasers for traffic management in orbit and to help to solve the problem of space debris.
The satellite was launched into a Low Earth orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 on the Bandwagon-2 mission.
Description
LASARsat is 1U specification CubeSat, with dimensions of 10×10×11.3 centimeters and total volume of 1000 cubic centimeters.Payload
The satellite has control, energy and communication equipment on board, the latter being designed for amateur radio contact. LASARsat is also carrying a small capsule with non-alcoholic Czech beer.Scientific instruments
Seven scientific instruments will be on board LASARsat:- Photodiodes, which will be used to measure the laser's energy losses in Earth's atmosphere.
- Series of light-emitting diodes, which will improve tracking accuracy.
- Retroreflectors, which will reflect the laser beam back to Earth's surface to allow its further study.
- Langmuir probe, which will measure changes in ionization upon laser's impact.
- Earthcam, a camera for capturing the Earth's surface, on which the effects of the laser beam on optical sensors will be tested.
- Two dosimeters, one supplied by Czech Aerospace Research Centre and the other one by SkyFox Labs.