GomSpace Experience

LAMDA - Laser based instrument for the ExoMars mission

LAMDA (Laser Anemometer and Martian Dust Analyzer) is an instrument designed for the ESA ExoMars mission to be launched in 2016. The instrument will collect measurements of Martian wind speed and directions as well as measure the rate at which dust deposits on the Humbold lander. The instrument is based on analysing reflected light from passing dust particles illuminated by laser light.

The instrument is developed by a consortium consisting of Aarhus University, Innoware A/S, Kirkholm A/S and GomSpace Aps. The instrument cleared its critical design review in November 2008.

GomSpace has been responsible for the critical design of the electronics for the instrument with special emphasis on meeting extreme temperature requirements and optimizing measurement accuracies relating to the science objectives.

Kalman filter based sensor fusion for Marimatech A/S

Marimatech is a leading provider of berthing aid systems and portable piloting systems for the marine industry. GomSpace has been been contracted by Marimatech since 2007 to develop and integrate Kalman filter based sensor fusion algorithms into their products.

Integration of the algorithms has increased the accuracy and robustness of Marimatech products and allows fusion of information from different sources including GPS, AIS, and gyros to provide concise and accurate situational awareness for the captain/pilot.

Marimatech development manager Tommy Mikkelsen states: "GomSpace understood our requirements right away and were able to rapidly show a working prototype implementation that convinced us that we were pursuing the right track"

AAUSAT-II - Second Generation Cubesat

Second generation cubesat developed at Aalborg University. The satellite was launched in April 2008 and is still working in orbit. The system build on the expertise gained from the AAU-Cubesat mission (see below) and is build around a mission with the objective to characterise a new gamma-ray detector in the space envrionment. The cubesat platform is a perfect match for this type of mission!

GomSpace employees were involved in:

  • Project set up and management
  • Supervision of student work
  • Systems engineering activities
  • On board computer and software development
  • Attitude determination and control
  • Assembly, integration and verification

SSETI-Express - European Micro-Satellite

ESA-managed international student-satellite launched in October 2005. Unfortunately the satellite only operated for 11 hours due to a fault in the electrical power supply hindering battery charging. GomSpace employees were a driving force behind the mission and subsequent failure analysis.

GomSpace employees responsible for:

  • On board computer development
  • Command and data handling software
  • Attitude estimation and control system
  • Camera payload
  • Systems engineering tasks

AAU-Cubesat - Europe's first Cubesat

Launched in June 2003 and was the first European cubesat to gain contact with its ground-station. Operations lasted for three months hindered by radio-problems and finally by loosing battery capacity. Nevertheless, it was a great success as a first step in pico-satellite design. The satellite featured a three axis attitude control system, a CMOS camera payload, a power system based on triple junction cells and lithium-ion batteries and an on-board computer. A UHF transceiver was designed in the last minute as an external supplier failed to deliver.

GomSpace employees responsible for:

  • Electrical power system
  • Command and data handling software
  • Communication system
  • Assembly, integration and verification
  • Ground station
  • Mission perations

Microgravity Isolation using Electro Magnetic Actuation (MIEMA)

The MIEMA project designed and constructed a six degree of freedom active vibration isolation system to improve the quality of experiments conducted on parabolic flights and the international space system. The experiment was flown on two ESA parabolic flight campaigns with good results. The actuators were based on the voice-coil principle and were designed exclusively for the system.

GomSpace employees involved in:

  • System idea, design, and construction
  • Development of infra-red based sensor system
  • Development of actuation system
  • Mathematical modelling
  • Development of sensor fusion algorithms
  • Development of control algorithms
  • Parabolic flights and data post-processing