Finnish Satellite Workshop, a satellite seminar, was held on 23-25 ​​January 2013 at the premises of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. The seminar has grown from last year and it had 400 participants from 120 companies or organizations. There were 70 lecturers, more than half were from abroad. The most distant lecturer came from the United States.

The main focus of the seminar was on small satellites and the use of the data received from small satellites. There are many applications that use satellite data now and new applications are being planned. In Finland, the space sector now employs 1,000 people and many companies use space data. There are now many projects under way that will strengthen Finland's space sector. The goal is that by 2025 the space sector will employ 10,000 people. Aalto satellites, ICEYE and Reaktor Space Lab are examples of the success achieved in recent years in Finland. And more is coming.

Last year we were talking about sending satellites to orbit the earth. This year, there were projects also launched to send satellites further, for example, asteroids or to the Moon. One project is planning to send a measuring device to the Moon, and in the MOOCHA project, 8 small satellites are planned to be sent to orbit the Moon in the near future.

Making small satellites and sending them into space is getting cheaper all the time. The smallest satellites, such as the Suomi100 satellite, are 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm in size and weight is about one kilo. Although the Suomi100 satellite is small, it has a solar cell, communication devices, a computer, measuring devices for exploring the Northern Lights and a camera. If the size of the satellite is 30 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, it can do much more.

Now you can now make and send a small satellite to the space with less than 100 00 EUR. Traditional large satellites can cost hundreds of millions. Satellites can use the same components as in computers and phones. The dimensioning of small satellites is standardized and satellites can be sent from multiple locations. There are more and more satellite experts and universities train them more. That's why there are coming new applications more and more.

For example, with the new technology can better predict when grain should be harvested. Take a picture of fields from space and analyze it with new techniques. For Japanese tourists, a live image can be shown from the Northern Lights. Ships can be steered remotely. Asteroid mineral resources can be estimated. More accurate weather forecasting. Cheap phone and data connections to the whole globe. The possibilities are almost limitless and not all possibilities have been realized yet.

At the beginning of the space, only large countries or organizations were able to send satellites. In recent years, the majority of satellites have been sent by private companies and universities. In 2018, more than satellites 500 were sent to the space. In 2019, even more satellites will be sent. The first small satellites were sent to space in 2003. Development has been really fast.

When there are more and more satellites sent, a problem of space debris will come bigger. All satellites have not been successfully destroyed in the earth's atmosphere. Today it is estimated that 30,000 ten centimeters objects and 750,000 items of one centimeter will circulate in orbit at different altitudes. There are systems to control them and, for example, ISS changes its course if there is a threat to hit something. One small object can break the satellite or its equipment, such as a solar cell. In the future, more attention will be paid to removing all satellites from orbit. Finally time will take care of debris. If the launch of new satellites is stopped now, in 10,000 years almost all space debris has either burned in the earth's atmosphere or landed to the earth.

Several interesting technical details were presented at the seminar. The efficiency of satellite solar cells is 30%, while the efficiency of solar cells sold to ordinary consumers is about 17%. The solar cells in the satellites cost about 10 times more and are therefore not worth putting on the roof of houses on the ground. Of course, this achievement of space technology will become common over time.

Today, small satellites are launched with large rockets. Few make rockets themselves. There was one rocket project at the seminar. Latvia wants to be the 19th country to launch a rocket at a height of 100 km. The project has one unique idea: get the rocket first to height of 30 km with a ball and then launch a rocket. The name of the project is “Pirie LV 100 km kosmasa”. The project is still in the early stage and the exact launch date is not known yet. You should follow this project!

In the near future, the space industry will need many new experts. Children, young people and students need to be told about space. What if you built your own rockets or satellite? It is now possible and definitely makes space more attract!

I was in the seminar for the second time. The content and organization of the seminar worked well. Jaan Praks, Samuli Nyman and their team are doing great job. I will definitely participate again next year!

For more information:

Suomi100 satellite http://suomi100satelliitti.fi/

Latvian 100 km rocket https://www.zinoo.lv/latvijaskosmosarakete/

Satellite Seminar https://spaceworkshop.fi/

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