Dstl Develops New Space Weather Sensing Suite in 1 Year

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is partnering with the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) on a joint mission to launch miniature sensors that will advance Space weather measurement and modelling capabilities.

The Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction Cubesat Experiment (CIRCE) comprises two 6U cube-satellites that will be launched into a near-polar low earth orbit (500km altitude) this year. Each 6U satellite bus, measures 10cm x 20cm x 30cm, and will fly almost identical instrument capability on both satellites.

The UK contribution to CIRCE is the Insitu and Remote Ionospheric Sensing (IRIS) suite, complementary to NRL sensors and comprising three highly miniaturised payloads developed for Dstl by University College London (UCL), University of Bath, and University of Surrey/Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). CIRCE will characterise a region of the Space environment, the ionosphere, which is important for a range of defence and civil applications and can impact GPS, communications and sensing technology.

All three IRIS payloads occupy a small volume no more than 10 cm x 10cm x 20 cm – you can hold IRIS in one hand. Miniaturisation of Space weather sensors means that a significant capability is packed into each satellite provided by Blue Canyon Technologies. This type of miniaturisation could pave the way for deployment of many more such sensors as a routine inclusion on other satellites thanks to their small size, weight and power. The result would expand data collection for the near-Earth Space environment, and enhance space weather modelling capabilities.