New Brunswick satellite VIOLET has been in space since March. With no response from the satellite and days before it vaporizes in Earth’s atmosphere, researchers aren’t giving up.
“We’re making every effort we can to communicate with VIOLET before it will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere,” Troy Lavigne, one of the program’s project officers, said.
He said the satellite was launched with two others as part of the Canadian Space Agency’s Canadian CubeSat Project.
The University of New Brunswick’s research team wasn’t able to identify which one was VIOLET early on, and two have already vaporized — meaning they have a one in three chance that the remaining satellite is VIOLET.
According to Lavigne, theories around why VIOLET isn’t sending back messages range from transmission challenges to a solar storm that may have damaged it.
But they’re not giving up.
Yelling louder
“Recently, one of the things that we’ve done is we’ve started yelling louder at VIOLET,” he said.
That means bumping up its transmission from 25 watts to 135 watts.
“That’s sort of like trying to get your friend’s attention across the street, but you’re not talking loud enough so you start yelling louder at them,” he said.
Lavigne said they only have about 10 to 15 minutes to communicate with the satellite a day — or approximately 120 more minutes before VIOLET enters the atmosphere.
The project was announced in May 2018, and Lavigne estimates it’s cost a total of $450,000, including sponsorships.
‘A fantastic success’
Lavigne said the satellite may send back some information when it enters Earth’s atmosphere, but even if it doesn’t he still believes it’s a success.
“Just being able to hand over a satellite that meets all the regulatory and performance requirements to be permitted by NASA to be launched in space is a fantastic success, and I think testament to especially all the student efforts who have put their hands and feet into this project for the last five years,” he said.
David Lechner-Ling is a Masters student who has been working on the project. He’s not disheartened by the lack of response from VIOLET.
“To see the steps that the other teammates took, to see how much thought and effort went into it to really try and narrow down on the issue itself, that was its own experience too,” he said.
And Lavigne said they’re already working on a second VIOLET satellite.
Mathias Huyghe came from France for an internship at the University of New Brunswick, and spent the summer working on part of the next satellite.
For him, the hands-on experience is valuable.
“They really trust me with the project, so I can be part of something that will go to space one day.