The first Czech space mission will explore mining possibilities on asteroids

The first Czech space mission will explore mining possibilities on asteroids
19/7/2021Press releases

The first ambitious project from the Czech National Space Plan will be carried out after the European Space Agency (ESA) recommended the Space Laboratory for Advanced Variable Instruments and Applications (SLAVIA) project. It should lay down the foundations for future mining on asteroids by using two 20-kilograms satellites each of which will carry three devices designated mainly for exploration of asteroid fragments, or interplanetary matter entering the Earth atmosphere. Negotiations between ESA and a consortium led by a company S.A.B. Aerospace from Brno about launch of the project are in the final stage. Feasibility study, which will set the timeframe, should be elaborated within 12 months.

The first Czech space mission will explore mining possibilities on asteroids
“During the last years, the Czech companies strengthened their position as reliable suppliers of equipment and sub-systems for space missions. The next logical step and the Czech ambition is to build capacities for development and production of complex systems and entire space missions. Although they are the most expensive, they also provide higher added value and higher return on investment”, said the Minister of Transport Karel Havlíček.

“While working with ESA, we have developed a new type of space projects, so called ambitious projects. These are more complex and by their nature more ambitious than anything that has been implemented so far in the Czech Republic in the field of space activities. The first ambitious mission was selected for feasibility study and other will follow”, explained Václav Kobera, Director of ITS and Space Activities, Research, Development and Innovations at the Ministry of Transport. 

The satellites from the SLAVIA project will carry a so-called hyperspectral camera, which can analyse the composition of near Earth meteoroids and asteroids after they enter the Earth atmosphere. It will also carry a mass spectrometer that will analyse the separated particles or dust directly on the orbit and a radio antenna to monitor plasma, which will help for better understanding of how the space debris behaves. The project will not be used only for collection of data about observed asteroids. It will also be an opportunity to present products available for commercial use, such as hyperspectral camera, mass spectrometer and a satellite bus, which is one of the aims of the call for ambitious projects.

Compared to previous years, when the Czech companies were responsible for development of hardware and software solutions and their testing before sending them abroad, during this project, the designers will need to pay attention to all stages of the mission including the system design, launch of the satellites and their operation on the orbit.

The leading company S.A.B. Aerospace from Brno cooperates on the SLAVIA project with a consortium consisting of the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU), a Czech company Huld Ltd. and J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry.

“When selecting the project, ESA mainly welcomed a thorough description of requirements, the first design of the mission and the business model prepared according to the tender documents and its compliance with the targets of the National Space Plan. The Czech Framework Project Committee also appreciated close ties between the industry and the academia, how the project idea follows the strategy of the companies and institutions involved as well as the state, and its compliance with existing international cooperation framework”, explained Ondřej Rohlík, the managing director of the Framework Project under which the Czech Republic implements its ambitious missions.

The first call, in which the SLAVIA project succeeded, focused on the use of new technologies for research. Three projects were registered in this call.

Over a billion Czech crowns will be distributed over the next five years (based on the timeframe of the specific project) for ambitious missions requested by ESA from the Czech Republic. This amount should be sufficient for a launch of one to three missions according to the assessment of feasibility studies of each mission.

About Ambitious projects

The idea of Ambitious projects was developed by the Ministry of Transport in cooperation with ESA on the basis of the National Space Plan approved by the government in 2019 as one of priorities for 2020–2025. These projects have various aims, mainly to acquire integration abilities, increase its competitiveness against foreign partners, make cooperation between Czech companies and academia more effective by complementing each other and creating value chain (high added value).

Ambitious projects will help the Czech stakeholders to operate space flights either as self-governed missions or as a significant and autonomous part of a bigger international mission. In the previous years, the Czech Republic only cooperated on missions designed and operated from abroad (except CubeSat nanosatellites for space research).


Photo: Pixabay

 
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