Adelaide’s Kanyini satellite critical test – OK

South Australian Space Mission satellite Kanyini has passed its Critical Design Review, clearing the way for finalisation of the satellite design. The success of the CDR gave the green light to the project team finalising the design of the 6U spacecraft with integrated payloads and initiating the start of its manufacture and test phase.

Confidence in the design of the spacecraft provides a boost as the project heads towards the next big milestone which is to test and integrate the payloads into the satellite which will provide services to the South Australia government. 

CEO of Inovor Technologies, Dr Matthew Tetlow said “The process of building a spacecraft with our project partners is dynamic – the mission has a very complex payload suite which has given our team the chance to be innovative and creative in developing solutions to meet the mission requirements”. Innovor is responsible for Kanyini’s design and build.

SmartSat CRC Chief Executive Officer Andy Koronios said state’s investment in Kanyini is providing researchers with a vehicle to develop real-world technology based on their research to the benefit of a range of stakeholder.

“We are dedicated to developing satellite IoT connectivity technologies that help solve some of the biggest challenges facing Australian industries, and that includes water security for our environment, community and the economy.”

One research project conducted through the SmartSat CRC has already demonstrated reliable, cost effective monitoring of the Department of Environment’s extensive network of groundwater bores through Internet of Things (IoT) and nano-satellite telecommunications will be utilising the technology onboard Kanyini.

The research project, conducted by FrontierSI, Myriota, Uni SA, NGIS Australia and Department for Environment and Water, has resulted in the development of an end-to-end solution for transmitting and aggregating automatically collected information from bores across rural and regional South Australia, with a focus on environmental water monitoring.

FrontierSI Deputy CEO, Phillip Delaney said: “We have been working closely with Myriota, UniSA, NGIS Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water over the past two years to demonstrate the transformative use of Internet-of-Things and nanosatellite communications to improve groundwater bore monitoring and management in the harsh environment of remote Australia.

“This project has created a wealth of information on groundwater, transforming once per year updates on groundwater into data points multiple times per day.

“Importantly, as many of these sites are in hard, remote environments, there are substantial safely benefits gained by reducing the number of times these sites need to be visited.”

As IoT lead for the mission, Myriota co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr David Haley said that the data collected would have enormous benefits for users here on Earth.

“The success of the Kanyini Critical Design Review marks the beginning of a new phase of the programme where the Myriota and Inovor teams will proceed with assembly, integration and testing of the spacecraft and its two payloads.

“The Internet of Things payload will add to the Myriota Network, collecting data from devices and sensors on the Earth’s surface, working together with hyperspectral imaging collected from the earth observation payload to support a wide array of applications including aiding farmers in monitoring water levels so they can more accurately predict future crop yields and supporting emergency services personnel to monitor, manage and mitigate emergencies like bushfires.”

By: Peter Roberts 

From:  https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/kanyini-satellite-passes-critical-review