Eye-Sat

Launch data: Designation  44877 / 19092E Launch date  18 Dec 2019 - 08:54 UTC Launch site  Ko, ELS Launch vehicle  Soyuz-ST-A Fregat-M Mission  Astronomy Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  508 x 527 km Eccentricity   Inclination  97.4° Period  95.0 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Eye-Sat (also spelled EyeSat) is a 3U CubeSat astronomy mission studying zodiacal light and the milky way developed by students from engineering schools working at the French space agency (CNES) in Toulouse, together with students from an University Technological Institute (IUT) in Cachan, France.
• The Eye-Sat astronomy mission has two major goals:
  • A scientific goal which consists in observing the zodiacal light in the visible domain, in polarized and non-polarized light and make a deep and comprehensive 360° image of the Milky Way in colour.
  • The second goal is to embark new technologies to test them. These technologies come from CNES R&T sufficiently mature to be embedded on Eye-Sat.

Mission details:

• On Dec 18, 2019 Arianespace launched a Soyuz ST-A/Fregat from the Centre Spatial Guyanais to place several satellites in sun-synchronous orbit.
• Fregat burn 5 and 6 went to 468 x 703 km and then to 509 x 527 km, following which three cubesats were deployed at 1305 UTC:
  EyeSat is a 3U cubesat built by student interns at CNES/Toulouse, and carries the IRIS space telescope to study zodiacal light.

External links:

• EOportal.org Satellite description
• Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking