Léo RamosNanosatellite developed by INPE and ITA was launched from the International Space StationLéo Ramos
Cubesat AESP-14, a cube-shaped nanosatellite measuring 10 centimeters on each side and weighing about one kilogram, developed in a partnership between the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), was launched into space on February 5, 2015 using a Japanese-made robotic arm operated from the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits the Earth at an altitude of 370 kilometers. Falcon 9, an American rocket, was deployed to transport the cubesat – encased in the Dragon space capsule – to the ISS along with 250 scientific experiments and other supplies, on January 10, 2015. AESP-14 is funded by research grants from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), totaling R$400,000. Its mission is to validate electronic and mechanical subsystems developed by ITA’s undergraduate and graduate students (see Pesquisa FAPESP Issue No. 219). Thirty minutes after launch, an on-board modem in the cubesat came online to transmit messages recorded by Brazilian scientists. The transmissions could be heard at amateur radio frequencies.
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