Angels, the first French nanosatellite has just been put into service with a constellation of 25 others.

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CLS / CNES / KINEIS

  • Placed in orbit last December, Angels, the first 100% French nano-satellite has just been put into service.

  • Ten times lighter and more efficient, this prototype paves the way for the Kinéis constellation made up of 25 nanosatellites.

  • Angels will make it possible to track animals and connected objects using miniaturized beacons.

It weighs just over 26 kg when its big brothers are ten times heavier and bulky.

And yet, like them, Angels is a gem of space technology.

And above all a concentrate.

In orbit 500 km around the Earth since December, it is the first nano-satellite made in France to be put into service.

After a battery of tests, the one which acts as a prototype has just been put into service.

This large shoebox will be able to improve in particular the connection of Argos beacons, and connected objects in general, to earth stations thanks to an on-board instrument.

ANGELS, France's first industrial nanosatellite developed by @ HEMERIA1 and @CNES, extends the scope of space IoT ➡ https://t.co/G7rW2erUyz#nanosatellite #argosneo #newspace # angels @ KineisIoT @Syrlinks @thalesgroup @CLS_Group pic.twitter. com / lKd51xKHJB

- HEMERIA (@ HEMERIA1) October 13, 2020

Miniaturized beacons

For forty years, CNES and its subsidiary CLS, have located and collected data using the famous beacons and several satellites.

“With Angels, we will be able to develop new, smaller tags to be able to track more species.

Today, we are following 8,000 animals, we hope to double this figure within five years.

This nano-satellite is more efficient, it listens better and is able to hear smaller beacons which will have batteries that last longer, ”explains Yann Bernard, director of environment and climate applications at CLS.

The signal from ground beacons can reach Angels with a transmission power of 100 megawatts, which is five times less than what is needed today.

But beyond the monitoring of animals, the challenge for CLS is also to be able to track down sources of pollution, especially maritime ones.

Whether by placing miniature beacons on fishing nets lost at sea or in oil slicks.

ANGELS, the French #nanosatellite up to the challenges of #newspace is in service!

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5x more efficient and 10x smaller than its predecessors, it gives a taste of the possibilities of our future constellation.

@CNES @Thales_Alenia_S @ HEMERIA1 @CLS_Group pic.twitter.com/YiHBzGzBEn

- Kineis IoT (@KineisIoT) October 13, 2020

Within three years, the Angels prototype will be joined by a fleet of 25 other nano-satellites, of the same size, manufactured in Toulouse by the Héméria company.

They will all be part of the Kinéis constellation, specializing in real-time location information and the Internet of Things (IoT), from containers to hikers.

“These nano-satellites are cheaper to make and cheaper to launch.

With miniaturization, we optimize everything we can, we go straight to the point, while remaining efficient in tracking all types of objects anywhere on the planet, ”assures Alexandre Tisserant, the head of Kinéis.

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