MELBOURNE, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — Australia’s nanosatellite has successfully completed the initial phase of its mission, a milestone hailed as a breakthrough for the nation’s growing space industry.
The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) nanosatellite, led by Australia’s University of Melbourne (UniMelb), in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), is the first space telescope funded by the Australian Space Agency to carry a foreign space agency’s scientific instrument as its main payload, a UniMelb statement said Tuesday.
SpIRIT has circled the Earth more than 9,000 times, a distance comparable to a round trip between Earth and Mars, and has been in orbit for over 600 days since launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from California, the United States, in December 2023, the statement said.
Having deployed its winged thermal management system and selfie stick, SpIRIT has taken a “selfie” from space, marking the end of its commissioning phase, it said.
Expected to remain in orbit for more than 1,000 days in total, SpIRIT, about 1 meter in size with custom radiators and cooling systems, will now shift to scientific observation, the statement said.
SpIRIT will use its HERMES X-ray detector to scan space for gamma ray bursts — unpredictable cosmic explosions from dying or colliding stars, and promptly alert astronomers as an early warning for further investigation, it said.
SpIRIT’s successful commissioning period is a true milestone for Australian technological advancements and space capabilities, “a great example of the mutual benefit that comes from collaborating in space,” said principal investigator, UniMelb Professor Michele Trenti. ■