BRITE Data - BRITE Constellation Data Collection and Analysis

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

The goal of the BRITE Mission (BRITE Target Explorer) is the long-term observation of the brightness variations of massive luminous stary by a constellation of six nanosatellites, each carrying an astromical telescope. Design and construction of BRITE-Austria was funded by the Austrian Space Applications Programme (ASAP). The successful launch took place on 25 February 2013. The satellite makes use of improvements of three-axis stabilisation of small satellites to the level of 1 arc-minute, based on novel technology. This opens opportunities for similar nanosatellite missions with a new level of pointing accuracy. The photometric data provide time series with unprecedented precision that cannot be obtained from the ground due to limitations imposed by the terrestrial atmosphere.The BRITE nanosatellite carries a telescope (with no moving parts, one filter) and detector with a large field of view (24 degrees) which can monitor multiple target stars, so that differential photometry can be obtained both in brightness and colour with precision better than 0.1% for a single observation. The constellation of the multiple BRITE nanosatellites offers a significant improvement in science return over a single spacecraft, since it allows the use of two different filters in different satellites and provides much better time and sky coverage. The project contains the following scientific and operational tasks: operations of BRITE-Austria on a daily basis; control of BRITE-Austria, check-out of the operational parameters, the systems status, payload configuration and capabilities of the instruments; investigation and optimisation of the attitude control properties in orbit and the impact on the science data quality; operations and maintenance of the ground station; coordination with the BEST (BRITE Executive Science Team) which prepares the observation program for BRITE Constellation; quality control of the science and housekeeping data on a daily basis and scientific data processing and analysis of the results.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/11/1331/10/15

Fingerprint

Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.