TechDemoSat 1 (TDS 1)

TechDemoSat 1 [SSTL]

TechDemoSat 1 (deorbit sail deployed) [SSTL]

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has been awarded in October 2010 an award for a national technology demonstration satellite called TechDemoSat-1 (TDS 1). The satellite acts as a host for a number of technology experiments.

The UK’s Technology Strategy Board and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) have together provided a grant of £770,000 to fund the core mission design elements. SSTL, UK industry and UK academia will fund the novel payload technologies and the grant will enable the final payload selection process to be completed. Following a successful design phase, a further grant of £2,730,000 will be released and that the programme will transition into the build and test phase.

TechDemoSat-1 is the first collaborative UK satellite launched since the establishment of the UK Space Agency and will demonstrate the advanced capabilities of state-of-the-art small satellite technology for scientific and commercial applications.

The mission concept has been industry-led - the culmination of several leading British space companies’ and universities’ efforts to demonstrate the UK’s technical lead in space innovation. SSTL as the project leader cooperates with the research and commercial partners providing the payloads in building, testing and operating the satellite.

TechDemoSat-1 will carry a number of payloads:

• MuREM, a flexible miniature radiation and effects monitor from Surrey Space Centre
• ChaPS, a prototype compact instrument to detect electrons and ions from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory
• HMRM, a lightweight, ultra-compact radiation monitor designed to measure total radiation dose, particle flux rate and identify electrons, protons and ions from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Imperial College
• LUCID, a device to measure characterisation of the energy, type, intensity and directionality of high energy particles from the Langton Star Centre
• Compact Modular Sounder system, a modular infrared remote sensing radiometer unit from Oxford University’s Planetary Group and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
• De-orbit sail from Cranfield University
• Cubesat ADCS, a 3-axes attitude determination and control subsystem from SSBV
• Sea State Payload, a device using an enhanced GPS receiver from SSTL and components from a Synthetic Aperture Radar from Airbus Defence and Space to monitor reflected signals to determine ocean roughness