The Italian Space Agency ASI has signed a contract with an industrial team to begin the Phase A study for its INNOVATOR CubeSat mission that will study gravitational and atmospheric science.
The INNOVATOR (INtersatellite liNk fOr graVity and ATmOspheRic science) mission will be carried out by a Temporary Business Grouping (TBG) led by Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale, Thales Alenia Space Italia, and the Interdepartmental Center for Aerospace Industrial Research (CIRI-AERO) at the University of Bologna. A TBG in Italy is used as a legal and contractual agreement that allows multiple companies to collaborate on a specific project for a limited period.
Part of ASI’s Alcor project, the INNOVATOR mission consists of two 6U CubeSats. Each satellite is equipped with an InterSatellite Link payload that will allow the satellites to be connected at all times. This connection will allow for the collection of ranging and range-rate measurements, which can be used to accurately estimate the gravitational and non-gravitational accelerations acting on the satellites.
The Phase A study for the mission is set to kick off in the next few weeks. It will be completed within six months.
The Alcor project
Preparation for the Alcor project began in 2020 with a call published for “Future CubeSat Missions.” A total of 48 proposals were submitted, with 20 of those submissions being selected.
The name of the programme comes from one of two stars that make up the Ursa Major constellation. According to ASI, an ancient Persian text from the tenth century describes how being able to distinguish the two stars was used as a test to select watchmen and soldiers. The agency explains that this gets to the core aim of the Alcor programme, which seeks to peer into the future and begin developing the building blocks of what comes next.
