November 21, 2019

OGMS-SA

From a nanosatellite demonstrator to an astrochemistry instrument


Partner	Paris Est – Créteil Val de Marne University (UPEC)
Launch date	Scheduled end 2020
Launch base	To be defined
Orbit	Low Earth, Sun-synchronous
Mission lifetime	6 months to one year

The OGMS-SA project (OutGassing Material Study by Spectroscopy Analysis) was born in 2013 and was initially an in-orbit demonstrator in the Belgian QB50 project. It is scheduled to launch in late 2020 or early 2021.

MISSION

The goals of OGMS-SA are to:

• Demonstrate a new sensor called CRDS (Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer) in orbit
• Study degradation of materials exposed to solar radiation (UV and heat) and analyse trace gases (pollution) in low Earth orbit
• Get students engaged in a space project covering the three key disciplines of science, engineering and management

CUBESAT

OGMS-SA is a 3U cubesat built by students with international participation from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT, South Africa) and Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC, United States), which will both be providing their UHF-VHF ground stations. More than 80 students have already worked on the project.

Exploded view of OGMS-SA.

A specific feature of OGMS-SA is its structure built by additive manufacturing with a plastic called Windform XT 2.0 (approved by NASA and ESA for use in space). This structure is then coated withmetal (copper, nickel and chrome).