Elon Musk to launch Hungarian top university’s new satellite
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Another small new satellite built at BME is awaiting launch, now in the United States for final testing and adjustments. The satellite, named Hunity, developed with the professional partnership of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), has reportedly already been integrated onto its launch vehicle: none other than Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Several innovations on the new satellite
The satellite was built at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (VIK) of BME, by the staff of the Department of Broadband Infocommunications and Electromagnetic Theory’s Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory, in cooperation with students and the University Radio Club, and funded by the NMHH.
Weighing 868 grams and measuring approximately 5×5×15 centimeters, the device carries several innovations. Compared to earlier student satellites, it features newly developed deployable solar panels and instrument panels, as well as a high-resolution onboard camera and a magnetic and motorized attitude control system.
“Continuing the inter-university cooperation launched with the MRC100 satellite, four experimental panels from the development team of Széchenyi István University were also placed onboard.
Control station in Budapest
In addition, the finalist teams of last year’s Cansat Hungary high school competition were able to include a total of six of their own experimental panels,” said Levente Dudás, technical lead of BME’s pocket satellite projects, to bme.hu.
The satellite will communicate via the amateur radio band, with its primary ground control station located on the roof of Building E at BME. The launch is scheduled for November as part of the Transporter-15 mission.