Last week was an exciting week for the Australian space industry as three Australian satellites were launched on Rocketlab’s ‘They Go Up So Fast’ mission. UNSW Canberra Space launched their M2 twin satellites and established successful communication with both spacecraft shortly after launch. M2 is the most complex and advanced satellite mission ever developed in Australia, and arguably one of the most complex nanosat missions ever attempted. The M2 satellite platform and payloads were designed and manufactured by Australian engineers and are representative of the rapid maturation of the Australian space sector. You can read more about M2 mission from the media release by UNSW Canberra.
M2 and its predecessor M2 Pathfinder (launched in June 2020) are building flight heritage for the unique features and capabilities of Infinity Avionics products and solutions, commercialized under license from UNSW.
The reconfigurable FPGA processor platforms available from Infinity Avionics are the brains of the M2 satellites. Demonstrating application flexibility, Volkh Processing Platforms are used as the main onboard command and data handling processor, a payload processor, as well as the high-resolution image sensor readout processor. Additionally, Perun Processors are used as the computers for the attitude determination and control system (ADCS), GPS and timing subsystem, and an advanced payload. The small form factor of these processing platforms have enabled custom shapes and sizes for subsystems and thus optimal packaging and integration within nanosat volume constraints. Custom logic implementation on Volkh Processing Platforms has enabled the high-resolution image sensor readout capability.
In addition to Infinity Avionics processor platforms, M2 mission is equipped with SelfieCam Engineering Cameras which are also available through Infinity Avionics. These cameras are used to acquire visual feedback on antenna deployments and spacecraft orientation.
Infinity Avionics is excited to take these Australian-designed, flight-proven, reconfigurable processor platforms and engineering camera solutions to the Australian and global nanosatellite market.