TOMSK, Dec 23 – RIA Tomsk, Karina Sapunova. Specialists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) gave a copy of the satellite created in higher education institution which is now on the International Space Station (ISS) to the city of Korolev (Moscow region) that astronauts learn to launch similar devices into an orbit with it help, the director of the Institute of Nondestructive Control of TPU Valery Borikov reported to RIA Tomsk.
Earlier it was reported that the TPU nanosatellite manufactured to the 120 anniversary of the higher education institution was delivered to the ISS in the spring. It is planned to be let out for the orbit at the first exit of crew of the ISS in the outer space – in 2017. It was reported also that the scientists intend to start a whole "swarm" of such devices which could work at the orbit together in the future.
"We had a double of the TPU-120 satellite at the university, and we turned it on, accepted telemetry – what temperature, what speed, what positioning. We worked it out with the double. Now we sent it to the city of Korolev, and trainings on launch of the device into space will be hold there", – Borikov told.
He explained that any spacecraft is manufactured not in one copy – it allows to understand the reasons of malfunctions, for example. In this case the double will be used for working off of start of the nanosatellite from the ISS board – it needs to be made manually.The interlocutor of the agency added that the satellite was used for training of polytechnics before. Thanks to the fact that they could take readings from it through the training center of management of flights (CMF) students got a work experience with the device and are able to accept a signal from the device which will appear in the orbit in 2017.
According to Borikov, the students practicing in CMF try to contact the ISS and to participate in profile projects in case of each opportunity. For example, recently polytechnics participated in an experiment of Energia Rocket and Space Corporation and Moscow Aviation Institute and received the color image from the board of the space station successfully.