An information package from the nanosatellite Hämarik, was successfully captured on the 15th of November, with the antenna of the Tartu Observatory, located in Tõravere. Verification on the 16th of November proved the authenticity of the package. The communication with the satellite involved Madis Kaal, the software specialist of Hämarik and the leading engineer of the Tartu Observatory, Viljo Allik, sending many command packages towards the satellite, to which the satellite responded.
Rauno Gordon, the head of the satellite team at the University of Technology, confirmed that the package received contained information about the condition of the satellite: "It is based on this, still too early to say anything definitive, about the subsystems of the satellite.
The initial telemetry indicates that the backup radio is currently operating through the main antennas. It is not yet known about the main radio, if it has been switched off or it is not in working order. A lot of work still needs to be done, according to Rauno Gordon, for the satellite to start sending images. He added: "The most important thing is to continue developing the parabolic antenna of the earth station of the university of technology, so that it can receive UHF and later also X-band signals. There is still sufficient work, for many more students in the field of software.
Hämarik is the third nanosatellite of Estonia, which was sent into orbit on 3 September 2020, with the launcher Vega, from the Kourou space centre in South America. The mission of the satellite is to monitor the earth, using RGB and NIR cameras. Many innovative technologies have been used on the satellite, for example the satellite selects only the pictures without clouds, for sending to the Earth. The orbiting circle of the satellite is at 550 km, at a speed of 7.6 km/s.
A photo of the satellite is HERE.
Additional information: Dr. Rauno Gordon, Head of Space Centre, Tallinn University of Technology, rauno.gordon@taltech.ee