Alsat-1: First member of the DMC

Abstract

Alsat-1 was initially a know how transfer program. It was to allow to 11 young engineers acquiring knowledge by the active participation in all Alsat-1 project phases. Two options were suggested to us: Carry out a traditional micro-satellite of the UoSat family having a proven reliability but with limited characteristics. All the modules were in this case already designed. Or, to choose new generation micro-satellites that have similar possibilities to those of the commercial satellites and take part of a constellation dedicated to the disaster monitoring with what that supposes like rigorous in the satellite operation. We chose the second configuration without hesitating and the course of the project gave us later reason because it was carried out starting from a new design (scratch). Several modules were new in Alsat-1 (the imager, the storage unit SSDR) and others derived from demonstratives versions having flown once (redundant storage module SA1100 and the High Rate Transmitter). This allowed the Algerian engineers to be implied since the first phase of the project (Mission Analysis phase). © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.