THE UPMSAT-2

UPMSat-2 UNION is a university microsatellite project led by IDR/UPM, intended as a logical continuation of the previous UPM-SAT 1 satellite, qualified for flight with Ariane-4 in 1995 and launched into orbit in July of the same year. The aim of the project is to design, build and qualify, launch and operate in orbit a platform based on the one already qualified, incorporating new technologies and adapted to the requirements of current launchers, usable as a technological demonstration vehicle in orbit, as well as for scientific and educational applications.

From this perspective, UPMSat-2 UNION has been defined as a microsatellite in the 50 kg mass category, whose geometrical envelope is a parallelepiped of 0.5 m × 0.5 m base and 0.6 m height. The payload performance of the platform is still to be refined, with an available volume of approximately 0.40 m × 0.40 m × 0.25 m, up to 15 kg mass and 15 W power, in a polar orbit around 600 km altitude. The planned launch date is 1 September 2020, with an estimated lifetime of 2 years.