S-Net is a worldwide inter-satellite communications network consisting of four satellites and being operated by the Technical University of Berlin.^[2]

Description

The project has the goal to investigate and demonstrate inter-satellite communication technology within a distributed and autonomously operating nanosatellite network. All satellites are equipped with a S-Band radio emitter and receiver, which not only enables communication with the ground-based control center but also allows for communication between the individual satellites.^[3] The number of satellites in the network was set to four as this number represents the best cost-benefit-ratio. With four satellites, a total of six independent communication links are possible, while only three are possible with three satellites. Moreover, four is the lowest number that enables multi-hop communication.^[1] The satellites are powered by solar cells and batteries and have a planned lifetime of one year.^[1] Future applications of the technology may be more effective monitoring of global issues like climate change, disaster management, maritime systems monitoring and even enable satellite constellations for high-bandwidth internet access.^[2][1]

Launch

The four satellites were successfully launched on a Soyuz-2.1A rocket from Vostochny Site 1S in Russia on 1 February 2018. The launch was originally scheduled for 22 December 2017, however due to the failure of a Soyuz-2.1B rocket, Roscosmos decided to delay the mission.^[3] The spacecraft were released into orbit at an altitude of approximately 580 kilometers at an interval of 10 seconds. The launch represents the tenth mission of the TU Berlin, sending a total of 16 satellites to space.^[2]

See also

• 2018 in spaceflight
• Iridium satellite constellation

References

External links

• TU-Berlin Website