Lesson 1 of 4 · Commission an experimental platform
Commission an experimental platform
6 minute lesson · 3 checks along the way
Your goal for this lessonExplain how the Algeria–UK partnership turned a small spacecraft into a platform for three distinct experiments.
In this lesson 3 sections · 3 checks
Using archive links & definitions
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Read & understand
A small spacecraft with a different purpose
ALSAT-1N, also called Alsat Nano, is a joint Algeria–United Kingdom 3U CubeSat launched on 26 September 2016. Its purpose combined engineering education with technology demonstration. It is distinct from Algeria’s operational mapping and communications programs: a successful experimental platform can answer engineering questions without providing a continuous national imaging service.
The University of Surrey built the spacecraft with Algerian participation; ASAL operated it. The mission carried three complementary experiments: Oxford Space Systems’ retractable AstroTube boom, the Open University’s C3D2 camera system, and thin-film solar cells developed through Swansea and Surrey. The shared platform supplied services such as power, commands, storage and radio communication. Each experiment still needed its own test objectives.
The AlSat-1N flight model in the laboratory, with the experimental thin-film solar-cell external board identified by the authors’ red annotation. Figure 10 in Underwood and colleagues’ 2023 flight-results paper. This preflight photograph does not show the spacecraft operating in orbit.
Look closely
How does the marked experiment differ from the spacecraft’s full power system?
See what to notice
The authors’ arrow identifies a small test board mounted on the flight model. Its cells were experimental samples measured in orbit; the photograph does not identify them as the complete spacecraft power supply.
Check 1 of 3
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Read & understand
Commission the platform before relying on a payload
A first beacon is evidence that a communication path works; it does not establish that every experiment is ready. Surrey’s account describes early checks of battery, temperature and software behavior, followed by commissioning of two-way communications and payloads. This sequence limits the risk of interpreting a payload result while its supporting system is unstable.
Imagine a camera that returns an incomplete file. The cause could lie in the exposure, storage, packet transfer or ground reconstruction. A useful investigation checks the chain in stages, using records of commands, stored file size and received data. Repeating the exposure without checking those interfaces can consume scarce energy while leaving the actual fault untouched.
Check 2 of 3
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Read & understand
Observe the whole orbit, not only the radio pass
The team collected stored whole-orbit data as well as telemetry received during ground contact. These records help reveal conditions when the spacecraft is out of radio range. A quiet battery reading during a brief contact cannot establish that the voltage stayed within limits throughout the previous eclipse or a power-intensive activity.
In a fictional 96-minute orbit, a six-minute station contact samples only 6/96, or 6.25 percent, of the time if nothing is stored between contacts. An onboard log can cover the rest and be downloaded later. It still needs timestamps, adequate sampling and known gaps: storage makes more history available, but does not make every event automatically observable.
A contact window is only part of the orbit
Original teaching diagram. An invented orbit illustrates why stored telemetry adds useful history.
Open full-size diagram in a new tab: A contact window is only part of the orbitCheck 3 of 3
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Put it together
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