DX Platform

The DX platform is a small satellite bus of up to 50 kg developed by Dauria Aerospace in 2012-2013. The spacecraft has a sub-cubic form factor that can be scaled in height from 30 to 50 cm while keeping the other two dimensions fixed at 40 cm, with the ability to mount payload elements (antennas, telescope baffles, etc.) outside the main bus envelope. The platform uses a two-tier stabilization system: reaction wheels for precise three-axis pointing and magnetorquers for coarse control and wheel desaturation, supported by a gyroscope-based attitude system with three sun sensors and one star sensor. The DX platform completed flight testing aboard the DX1 satellite, launched July 8, 2014 as a rideshare with the Meteor-M2 satellite on a Soyuz-2-1B/Fregat, after ground vibration, thermal-vacuum, and antenna anechoic-chamber testing. DX1 continued operating in low Earth sun-synchronous orbit (~650 km) for over 18 months, carrying an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver payload for maritime and river vessel tracking.