Project APTAS, Atmospheric Polar Transmission Alignment Satellite, is a student project at Luleå University of Technology, with the goal to design, build, launch and operate a CubeSat. The team consists of 14 members which all are students at the space engineering program at LTU. A project like this has never been done from LTU before, which makes the project unique and rises the university’s position as a space university. The launch to space is planned for the second half of 2021.
Payload
The payload will consist of an antenna to be used for calibration of the planned EISCAT 3D research project and an instrument for aurora imaging developed together with The Institute of Space Physics (IRF).
EISCAT, European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association, is a scientific association that operates several radio telescopes in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Their new project, EISCAT 3D, is a new way of observing the atmosphere over big volumes. Their EISCAT 3D will be ready for operation by 2021. The EISCAT instrument on the satellite shall consist of a transmitter designed to provide a reliable calibration signal for the ground based antennas.
The other instrument is a nadir pointing camera that takes photos of auroras while flying over the poles. The data will contribute to the aurora research taking place at IRF.
The team
The team contains of 14 students at the Space Engineering program at Luleå University of Technology placed at Space Campus in Kiruna. The Management team is Theresia Hestad (Head), Martin Elfvelin and Axel Widenfelt. The team have supervisors: Chris Nieto (PhD-student) and Aris Golemis (Research engineer).
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