One of the principal particularities of this project is the integration of a deorbiting system. In a time where spatial debris are multiplying and becoming increasingly dangerous for accessing space, a team of students from the University of Bologna in Italy has affiliated with the Montreal Polytechnique in order to develop and implement an experimental deorbiting system. This system’s goal is to decrease time spent by the satellite on a low orbit (700km) from 75 years to 25 years.
Technically, the system initialy is compacted in a 0,5U volume at the bottom of the satellite and deploys itself by the end of the principal mission with independant mecanism and power system. Therefore, after one or two years spent in space, the 50cm by 50cm sail is set in action. The large contact area is necessary in this environment where gazeous particules are rare in order to gradually decrease the spacecraft’s velocity so it would leave its orbit prematurely.
If ever the efficiency of this low cost solution to reduce spatial debris is proven, it could become an example to follow for future spatial objects to be placed in orbit.