Sector: Telecommunications

Number of satellites: 1

Form factor: 12 U

The Project’s purpose is the development and (In-Orbit) demonstration of an innovative Spaceborne Autonomous Identification and Localization System (SAILS) for a single 12U CubeSat platform in LEO Orbit.

A very compact instrument design based on the effective combination of Digital Beam Forming and Onboard processing approaches will provide the capability of very accurate real-time tracking. Challenging aspects will be the multichannel sensor design and the real-time algorithms fulfilling the DOA (Direction of Arrival) estimation and tracking loop constraints.

The in-orbit technological demonstration of this capability will be achieved by executing a complete end-to-end ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) mission for ground-based RF emitters identification and localization. Starting from this ISR verification approach, the system performance and design solutions will be accurately reviewed in order to evaluate their potential employment for a wide range of space sensor applications like space debris monitoring, collision avoidance, navigation, and rendezvous aid.

Proposing team: RadarSensing S.r.l.; N.P.C.; New Production Concept S.r.l.; Polytechnic University of Bari