University of Alberta’s satellite poised to transmit data on massive solar storm

EDMONTON Space is battling a major geomagnetic storm this weekend, and the University of Alberta’s Ex-Alta 1 Satellite is armed and ready to observe.

The most significant solar flare in 12 years erupted from the sun on Sept. 6, which will cause huge explosions of magnetic fields and plasma to speed toward Earth in the coming days.

It’s exactly the sort of event for which the Ex-Alta 1 built for. The milk carton-sized cube satellite was launched into space this May by a student-led U of A team. The satellite collects information on space weather and beams the results back to campus.

“Huge plasma is going to be shot at the earth from the sun in a coronal mass ejection,” said team member and engineering student Tyler Hrynyk. “What the satellite’s instruments detect could contribute to scientific research.”

Since launch, Ex-Alta 1 has been commissioning its gadgets, instruments and antennas to function properly and collect data. The process has been successful, but not without turmoil.

One scare was in mid-June when the satellite’s computer system began shutting off and on repeatedly.

“It was terrifying because we couldn’t stop it,” Nault said. “We suspect it was because of the radiation up there.”

A two-day system reboot eventually brought the computer back to life and Ex-Alta 1 floated on.

July was particularly smooth, but in the first week of August the satellite’s battery acted up.

“Something on board started drawing too much power, so the battery would drain crazy fast,” Nault said. “We realized the radio was broadcasting old code to anyone that would listen at a rate of 100 times per second.”

The team beamed up a firmware update to resolve the issue, putting out yet another fire in their mission to stay in orbit. They will continue to defend their prized creation until its lifespan winds down in the spring of 2019.

“Our success is measured by getting up in space and getting the science data down,” Nault said. “To be able to talk to the satellite, measure the data and download it is amazing.”

The other metric for success is how effective the team’s blueprint can map out success for others.

“We share all of our information, we want people to use our methods,” Nault said.

“Cube satellites are most accessible way to get to space science. It will likely be built by high school students soon, and that’s amazing.”

The primary barrier is cost, which Ex-Alta 1 is targeting headon. The satellite can operate through either an expensive commercial computer system the team purchased, or an open-source machine they built in-house.

“If you build a satellite using commercial products, you are looking at $250,000,” Hrynyk said. “If an entire satellite is opensourced, that’s less than $20,000, and that’s the game-changer to get more people involved.”

Over the coming months, Ex-Alta 1 will be commissioning and testing their open-source system, Athena. While it may sound mythical, Athena’s success in taking on key functions has real implications for the future, including the team’s next satellite project already in progress.

“A dramatic cost reduction allows more satellites to go up there, and this project has been the most amazing educational experience I’ve ever had in my life,” Hrynyk said. “Getting an engineering degree here, you have always been told you’re going to work in oil and gas. But this has opened more doors. Here in Alberta, I can get involved with space.”