GLOBAL OPTICAL AND ULTRAVIOLET PHOTOMETRY FROM SPACE

The first astrophysical satellite developed entirely by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and its academic and industrial ecosystem.

THE SCIENCE

WHAT WILL PHOTSAT OBSERVE?

The satellite will run all-sky monitoring of the 10 million brighter stars and other astrophysical objects for at least two years. The measurements, which will be especially precise for bright stars, will be used as supporting data for numerous ongoing international programs. Specifically, this type of observation will be relevant for exoplanet research, stellar characterization, and the study of bright transient phenomena such as supernovae and kilonovae.

THE SATELLITE

PHOTSAT IN FIGURES

16 units

PhotSat is a CubeSat with a planned size of 16 units (each unit being a cube with 10 cm sides).

10–20 kg

With a total mass between 10 and 20 kg, PhotSat will carry an astronomy payload designed and built by the IEEC.

10 cm Ø

Equipped with two telescopes approximately 10 cm in diameter, it will run all-sky scanning and photometric monitoring.

Every 2 days

An advanced system of rotating mirrors will perform an analysis of the visible and ultraviolet spectral bands every two days.

2025

The satellite is expected to be launched by the end of 2025 and will orbit the Earth in a low Sun-synchronous orbit at a minimum altitude of 500 km.

Montsec

Data generated will be transmitted and downloaded through the Sant Esteve Teleport, located at the Montsec Observatory.

THE CONSORTIUM

THE TEAM

PhotSat will be the first scientific satellite to be fully developed — from design phase to operations phase — by the IEEC and its academic and industrial ecosystem. This initiative will generate valuable expertise in NewSpace technologies and will help strengthen public–private collaboration.

Ignasi Ribas (ICE-CSIC/IEEC)

Principal Investigator (PI)

Guillem Anglada (ICE-CSIC/IEEC)

Project Scientist & co-PI

Ignasi Esteva (IEEC)

Project Manager

Josh Wilkinson (IEEC)

Systems Engineer

Josep Manel Carrasco (ICCUB/IEEC)

Project Scientist

Carles Sierra-Roig (former IEEC)

Former Systems Engineer

Joffre Alcivar (former IEEC)

Software Engineer

Carla Barnera (former IEEC)

Optical Engineer

Joan Bartrina Rapesta (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Nadia Blagorodnova (ICCUB/IEEC)

Ground-based alerts

Lluc Busquets (former IEEC)

Software Engineer

Juan Carlos Morales (ICE-CSIC/IEEC)

Lightcurve analysis

Xavier Casajoana (IEEC)

Electronic Engineer

Ricard Casas (ICE-CSIC/IEEC)

Optical Engineer

Javier Castañeda (ICCUB/IEEC)

Data management

Xavier Fernández Mellado (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Daniel Ferrer (IEEC)

Software Engineer

Octavi Fors (ICCUB/IEEC)

On-board alerts

Elías Gabriel Ferrer (ICCUB/IEEC)

Photometric calibration

Maria Garcia (ICCUB/IEEC)

Ground-based alerts

Pilar Gil-Pons (UPC/IEEC)

Aerospace Engineer

Jan Gómez (IEEC)

Electronic Engineer

Jordi Gutiérrez Cabello (UPC/IEEC)

Aerospace Engineer

Miguel Hernández-Cabronero (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Silvina Inciura (former IEEC)

Electronic Engineer

Sara Jurado Aguilera (UPC/IEEC)

Aerospace Engineer

Grace Katusiime (ICCUB/IEEC)

Ground-based alerts

Oscar Maireles Gonzalez (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Joan Maller (ICCUB/IEEC)

Data management

Eduard Masana (ICCUB/IEEC)

Photometric calibration

Albert Masip (ICCUB/IEEC)

Data management

Lluís Montilla (IEEC)

Mission Operations Engineer

Màrius Montón (former IEEC)

Software Engineer

Daniel Navarro (IEEC)

Software Engineer

Marc Ortega (IEEC)

Mission Operations Engineer

Jordi Portell (ICCUB/IEEC)

Data management

Julien Poyatos (ICCUB/IEEC)

On-board alerts

Pau Quintas (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Joan Serra-Sagristà (UAB/IEEC)

Data compression

Ibrahim Tahkyane (IEEC)

Mechanical Engineer

Carlos Valero (ICCUB/IEEC)

On-board alerts

This study has been funded by the MICIIN with support from the European Union through NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1), and by the Government of Catalonia.

Prime contractor:

Other contractors: