Opening ceremony of the training and research laboratory for the design of small spacecrafts (SSC)

On March, 10 the opening ceremony of the training and research laboratory for the design of small spacecrafts (SSC) took place at the SUAI. As well SUAI held an exhibition of students developments and unique scientific installations. The honorary guests of the event were Yuri Borisov, Director General of the State Corporation Roscosmos, and Vladimir Knyaginin, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg. The ceremony attended active members of the Russian St. Petersburg section of the ISA: Yulia Antokhina, Igor Pavlov, Nikolai Mayorov, Alexei Rabin, Sergey Solyony.

The exhibition of scientific achievements of the university became an opportunity to show developments in the field of unmanned aerial systems and flying robotics. The NORBI orbital experiment, a prototype of a planetary rover for testing onboard networks, as well as a unique scientific installation based on the SpaceWire automated network modeling and design system were presented. The guests had an opportunity to see a prototype of the rover, created by students, its chassis can be controlled from a smartphone, and the robotic arm will allow to work out a number of tasks. As culmination was an important event for the university - the opening of a teaching and research laboratory for the design of small spacecrafts (SSC).

-The laboratory will become a new point of growth for our university, - said Nikolai Mayorov, Director of the Institute of Aerospace Instruments and Systems of the SUAI. - It is planned to conduct both laboratory classes and applied research in the field of on-board systems of small spacecraft. The laboratory equipment will be used to gain work experience and prepare team student projects for the launch of educational satellites, participation in the SiriusSat-3U Kosmostroy competition and in the educational programs of Roscosmos for support, development and launch of Russian educational satellites Universat.

The new laboratory is equipped with educational kits SiriusSat-3U and OrbiCraft 3D compatible with the Orbicraft-Pro platform, which have the same architecture as real spacecraft. The kit includes VHF transceivers that allow to send and receive information via the VHF channel, in which most of the “cubesats” operate.

– The opening of the laboratory for the design of small spacecraft at the SUAI will contribute to the expansion of the position of the Russian Federation in the space industry, – said Yulia Antokhina, rector of the SUAI. – Today, creating the ICA is more than relevant. Work in this field has been carried out at our university for a long time, so today's event is really very important. After all, here students and graduates of the SUAI will have the opportunity to prepare their own projects related to the assembly of functional models of spacecraft.

The guest of honor of the opening ceremony Yuri Borisov, Director General of the State Corporation Roscosmos, congratulated the university staff on the important event and noted that the direction that the laboratory will develop is in great demand today.