e-st@r-I
Politecnico di Torino
Italy's first CubeSat, a 1U technology demonstrator testing an active magnetic attitude control system.
Technical specifications
- Form factor
- 1U CubeSat, 10x10x10 cm
- Mass
- 1.0 kg (design max 1.33 kg)
- OBC
- PIC/MSP430-based onboard computer
- Communications
- UHF transceiver, 437.445 MHz, 0.5 W, deployable antenna
- Power
- 5 body-mounted solar panels (>2 W each) + Li-ion batteries
- Payload
- Active 3-axis ADCS demonstration: magnetic torquers, IMU, PID/LQR/Kalman filtering
- Launch
- Vega VV01 (maiden flight), 13 February 2012, Kourou, French Guiana
- Mission end
- Re-entered atmosphere 14 February 2016
About
e-st@r-I (Educational SaTellite @ Politecnico di toRino) was Italy’s first CubeSat, developed by aerospace engineering students at Politecnico di Torino under ESA’s Education Office program. It launched on 13 February 2012 aboard the maiden flight of the European Vega rocket (VV01) from Kourou, French Guiana, alongside LARES (Italian Space Agency) and ALMASat-1 (University of Bologna). The 1U technology-demonstration CubeSat validated an Active Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) using magnetic torquers, an inertial measurement unit, and onboard Kalman filtering/PID/LQR control algorithms — capabilities aimed at giving small, low-cost satellites autonomous pointing and stabilization. e-st@r-I experienced unexpected tumbling shortly after deployment and entered a power-saving safe mode; last contact was 10 February 2016 and it re-entered the atmosphere on 14 February 2016. Approximate program cost was €50,000.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
