Israeli university to launch shoebox-sized satellite next year

Israel-based Tel Aviv University is planning to launch a research nanosatellite, TAU-SAT1 in Q1 of next year.

The satellite, which is the size of a shoebox, will be launched on a spacecraft sent by NASA and US aerospace firm Northrop Grumman to resupply the International Space Station.

The satellite hopes to conduct several experiments while in orbit, including measuring cosmic radiation in space.

Weighing less than 2.5kg, the miniature satellite is currently undergoing pre-flight testing at the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Commenting on the satellite, Ofer Amrani, head of Tel Aviv University’s miniature satellite lab said: “This is a nanosatellite, or miniature satellite, of the ‘CubeSat’ variety. TAU-SAT1 is the first nanosatellite designed, built and tested independently in academia in Israel.”