Sector: Astrophysics

Number of satellites: 1

Form factor: 12U

The CHIPS mission foresees a 12U satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), at an altitude between 475 and 590 km, equipped with an infrared telescope with the focal plane chamber actively cooled. The scientific goals of the mission are to identify Gamma Ray Bursts originating in the early Universe, identify infrared counterparts of gravitational wave sources, discover potentially habitable Earth-like planets around nearby cold stars, and study the near-Earth Asteroid family. To achieve these ambitious goals, CHIPS will have to address several technological challenges for a CubeSat: provide stable pointing with rapid re-targeting capability (within 20 minutes of a trigger); achieve attitude control using mini star trackers and reaction wheels capable of rotating the satellite at 0.5 deg/s and maintaining a pointing accuracy  better than 4 arc seconds; ensure practically continuous communication through the IRIDIUM constellation to receive trigger/pointing signals and download preliminary scientific data, while using a dedicated S-band radio antenna for complete data transfer.

Development team: INAF (Prime); Politecnico di Milano.

Development status: Phase A (feasibility study) closed.