The MESAT-01
On the 23rd of July in 2012 a massive solar superstorm, similar to the Carrington Event, barely missed Earth. Scientists predicted a 12% chance, that a storm like this could hit Earth again before 2022.
6 years later however, exactly that happened.
The effects were catastrophic, causing a very strong EMP effect, that covered large parts of the Earth. But the most damage occured in space, outside of the atmosphere. Multiple satellites became unusable, many others were crippled, due to the failure of multiple instruments.
The weather service was down for multiple weeks, until the remaining satellites could be reactivated and put back into service.
Three months after the event, an international contest was held to design a cheap, easy to build and effective satellite, that could be used to replace damaged satellites quickly. A team in Germany designed the „MeSat“, a small satellite, that fitted all of the requirements. The shown satellite is the first prototype that went into orbit.
-The first picture is just a basic overview of the satellite.
-The second one shows the front of the Satellite.
-The third one shows the Main Engine, used for orbital maneuvers. It is not very strong, but very efficient.
-The fourth picture shows the initial instruments installed on the Prototype, a normal camera, an IR-Imager array, and two antennas, that can be used for communication and the location of distress signals.
-The fifth picture shows off the solar array of the satellite, it’s foldable. In order to protect it, the underside is made from a very sturdy material.
-The sixth picture shows the main antenna, it can be folded and put into the casing.
-The seventh picture shows a part of the satellite wrapped in gold foil.
-The eighth picture shows the gyroscope of the satellite. It is not digital, because digital gyroscopes were some of the most vulnerable instruments during the solar storm. The magic 8-Ball is a joke of the designer, the normal casing is a cylinder, connected to the fuel tank and the top of the satellite. Inside the casing is the computer core, which is connected to all the cables going out of the casing.
-The ninth picture shows the monopropellant tanks.
-The monopropellant is used for the RCS thrusters shown in the tenth picture.
-Finally there is a picture of the two radioisotope thermoelectric generators, used as backup “batteries”.
A quick guide to the cabling:
Red Cable – Power.
Yellow Cable – Incoming signals, about to be processed by the computer.
Blue Cable – Scientific Data.
Lime Cable – Orders of the computer.