With launch preparations complete, we take a closer look at how the satellite will be commissioned for its future mission. NigeriaSat-2 will be operated by a team of trained NASRDA operations engineers from the recently upgraded ground station in Abuja.

As part of their latest training and development programme, five NASRDA engineers undertook operations training, which will enable them to task, download and process image data, as well as manage day to day satellite operations.

For the LEOP (Launch and Early Operations) phase, four SSTL engineers will join the Nigeria operations team in Abuja. LEOP is expected to cover a period of around one week, during which time the satellite will be stablized. Over the following few weeks, engineers will switch on and test each of the spacecraft modules, including the imaging system. This will be an exciting time when we’ll see the first images and operations are handed over to the Nigerian team.


A period of calibration will commence over 2-3 months before the Nigerian team begin downloading and processing targeted images, which will be used to help manage urban planning, deforestation, water and food resources and support emergency relief campaigns through the Disaster Monitoring Constellation. NigeriaSat-2 image data will also be made available commercially, supporting a sustainable space industry for Nigeria.

Are you sitting on an Android App that would work in space? Working in their lunch breaks and spare time, a team of SSTL engineers and researchers from the University of Surrey has built STRaND-1, the first satellite being powered by a smartphone. Mobile phones are getting more and more advanced and are today incredibly powerful. With components such as sensors, video cameras, GPS systems and Wi-Fi radios, smartphones have many similarities to Earth observation satellites and potentially a lot to offer as a payload.




The STRaND-1 team is now offering the opportunity for the UK public to take part in the mission through a contest, which will allow the winner to develop an Android App to be used on the mobile phone in space. The contest is now open on Facebook and the STRaND-1 team will choose the four most innovative, inspirational and fun App ideas. The winner will also be able to see their App run in space from the mission control centre at SSTL’s headquarters in Guildford.

Project Manager at SSTL, Shaun Kenyon said: "The STRaND project could lead the way to a new era of hardware and software testing for Surrey. We're almost ready to integrate all of the subsystems - a very exciting time to be involved in such influential work. Tell us what you'd like to do via our Facebook page, and what you need to achieve it, so that we can ensure the best apps are supported on STRaND"

STRaND-1 (Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Development) is built as a ‘CubeSat’ measuring 34cm x 10cm x 10cm, and weighs about 4kg. The Space App contestants will be able to make use of new technologies such as a new type of radio receiver, as well as GPS positioning, a 5MP camera, 3-axis accelerometers, 1GHz processor and a microphone. App ideas and entrants are lining up, giving the team a challenging time ahead in choosing the winners.

To find out more and to enter the competition, visit www.facebook.com/nanosats

For the latest updates and discussions around the competition, follow @SurreyNanosats on Twitter.

As the launch of NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X grows ever closer, the final preparations are underway at the launch site in Yasny, Russia. What does it actually mean to get a satellite ready for take-off? We’ve spoken to Project Manager Andrew Carrel about the work of the mission launch team, who are busy onsite getting the satellites ready to be shot up in space.

Once unpacked from their transit case the mission launch team, consisting of engineers from SSTL and Nigeria’s NASRDA, immediately began a series of meticulous tests to make sure that the satellites had made the journey in good condition and that everything was working as it should. With no problems discovered, the team could then move on to making the final preparations and fittings.

Andrew Carrel said: “When transporting satellites such a long distance, there’s always a risk things will have changed since the tests we made at SSTL before we pack them up. We were pleased to see that everything was working absolutely fine, making the preparation work much more straightforward.”

The campaign team repeated the tests done at SSTL in the final AIT stage, testing the electrical circuits and making sure that, for example, the solar panels reacted correctly when illuminated. The satellite’s subsystems were then prepared, carefully filling up the propellant and charging the batteries in the power system. Many of these preparations can only be made in the last few days before the launch to make sure the satellite is in optimum condition. This includes removing the so called “red tag” items, such as lens caps and other protective covers, as well as fitting the so called “green tag” items, such as electrical plugs to replace tests cables.

Continue reading "Rigging NigeriaSat-2 for launch"