Constell'Actions News | Road To New Zealand, Kinéis-CNES Rehearsal of satellite positioning operation
Final Preparations on the first 5 satellites before departure for New Zealand
The Kinéis and HEMERIA teams have carried out the final configuration of the first 5 nanosatellites that will shortly be launched in New Zealand. This important stage involved final checks and settings on the software and hardware aspects of the satellites.
During the 'software' phase, all the parameters enabling the nanosatellite to perform its in-flight initialisation sequence correctly after separation from the launcher were loaded on board. These parameters will ensure that the first few hours of flight go as planned (in particular, its identifier and the visibility settings for the ground stations). The engineers have also checked that the on-board software versions are correct.
The first 5 satellites have arrived at Rocket Lab , where they are being tested and prepared for launch
The batch 1 nanosatellites travelled by road and then by air from Toulouse to reach their final destination in Auckland, New Zealand. Their 7-day journey took them through Paris, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney. They were picked up and cleared through customs in Auckland by Rocket Lab, which took care of trucking them to the Mahia launch site on the east coast of the North Island.
At the launch site, Kinéis and Hemeria engineers checked the integrity of the container and the many boxes containing the ground equipment (electrical and mechanical), the condition of the shock detectors and the temperature/humidity sensors that had recorded the environmental conditions during the long journey, before carrying out a detailed and methodical inspection of the satellites. In the end, the satellites arrived at the launch site in perfect condition, and the GO was given to start campaign activities.
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They began with a major phase involving 2 parallel activities: the tensioning of the solar generator cords, with control of the solar panel deployment mechanism harness, and then, in close collaboration with Rocket-Lab, the assembly of the interface rings between the nanosatellites and the launcher (the 'rings') to ensure their separation.
Kineis- CNES teams successfully completed the general rehearsal of satellite positioning operations
The 1st dress rehearsal (RG) "Mise à Poste nominale" was organised at the Kinéis Control Centre, at CNES in Toulouse, over a period of 2 days, for a final check of ground resources, operational procedures and the proper preparation of the teams. All the entities involved in the launch on D-Day were mobilised, as were engineers from HEMERIA , in charge of satellite development.
More than sixty people were mobilised to simulate the launch of the 5 nanosatellites, the first acquisition of their signals on the Kinéis ground station network and the activities of the first 2 days of the LEOP phase (Launch and Early Orbit Phase).
This requires flawless organisation in terms of preparing and setting up the ground resources and procedures that will be used during the LEOP, as well as in terms of the functional and decision-making chains, which must be clear and particularly fluid.
This successful meeting validated the very good level of preparation and coordination of all the teams and enabled us to embark calmly on the final activities before the 1st launch.