THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR MAEVE AND HER EXTRATERRESTRIAL AMBITIONS
LOCAL scientist Maeve Doyle, who is the lead on-board software developer for the EIRSAT-1 mission, which is being developed by the EIR-SAT mission team at University College Dublin (UCD), has provided an update on the progress of this exciting space project, which will see the launch of Ireland’s first satellite.
She reported on the present status of the project for The Corkman:
“The EIRSAT-1 mission recently passed a major milestone which brings the project a step closer to launch. Following, a week of testing in the European Space Agency’s CubeSat Test Facility in Belgium, the gamma-ray detection experiment, `GMOD’ and the satellite’s antenna deployment module, which will release the spacecraft’s antennas that are needed for communication, have been qualified for space flight. This qualification shows that the custom, UCD-made components can survive the huge vibrations felt during launch and also the extremely harsh environment of space.
“This same qualification will also need to be achieved for the full satellite before we launch and will first be carried out on an `Engineering and Qualification Model’ of EIRSAT-1 before being tested on the space-bound ‘ Flight Model.’
“As well as our activities in ESA’s CubeSat Test Facility, the EIRSAT-1 team have been carrying out more tests in the UCD cleanroom. More recently, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the team are all working from home and remotely access the cleanroom to carry out all our work virtually. As part of these tests, we have been carrying out `Mission Tests’ or ` day in the life of ’ tests.
“During these tests, we imagine that EIRSAT-1 has already been launched and control the satellite as if it is in- orbit around Earth ( i. e. we are not allowed to physically interact with the satellite - which works surprisingly well with the constraints of remote working!). These tests help us prepare for the real mission and give us confidence in the plans we have in place for the Mission Control and Operations Team.
“Space projects are very high-risk projects and so all of this testing is important to ensure that the mission is in the best position possible to achieve its mission objectives,” said Maeve.
EIRSAT-1 is a miniature satellite, or Cube Sat, and is comparable to the size of an average shoebox. Subject to passing further reviews and mission milestones, EIRSAT-1 is expected to be delivered to ESA in mid-2020 with three scientific experiments on board.
Once in orbit the satellite will communicate data to an earth through ground radio stations located at the EIR-SAT1 mission control in the UCD School of Physics. It is being assembled by an interdisciplinary team of sixteen UCD postgraduate students, who are building the satellite with the support of the ESA’s education office.
Maeve Doyle, who is a past pupil of St. Mary’s Secondary School, Charleville, is daughter of Cllr. Ian and Angie Doyle of Newtownshandrum.
A graduate of Maynooth University, where she pursued a course in Physics with Astrophysics, followed by a two-year research masters with the Space Science group at UCD.
At the beginning of the secnd year of this programme Maeve joined the EIRSAT-1 team. She is presently studying to achieve her PhD, which is which is largely focused on this mission.
The software she is now writing, along with a group of other UCD students, will go on EIRSAT-1’s computer and will determine how the satellite behaves while in space