A low-cost microsatellite platform for multispectral Earth observation

In the Microsatellite Laboratory of the University of Bologna a project was started in 2003, aimed at the development of a multipurpose microsatellite platform named ALMASat. The launch onto orbit of the first prototype ALMASat-1 is currently foreseen by the end of 2008. One of the natural applications of the modular ALMASat platform is in the field of space-based Earth observation. At this aim, a spin-off company named ALMASpace was established in 2006, with the goal of designing and demonstrating the feasibility of a low-cost Earth observation mission based on the technological achievements obtained by the ALMASat project. This paper summarizes the main characteristics of the ALMASat-1 spacecraft and describes the current status of the design and development of the ALMASat-EO (Earth Observation) spacecraft bus and optical payload whose launch into orbit is currently scheduled at the end of 2010.