The University of Montpellier Space Center and the Van Allen Foundation celebrate 10 years of existence at the gala "L'odyssée Spatiale Montpelliéraine".
On June 29 at the Orangerie du Jardin des Plantes of the University of Montpellier, the gala event "L'odyssée Spatiale Montpelliéraine" celebrated a decade of work, support and projects by the Van Allen Foundation (FVA) and the Centre Spatial de l'Université de Montpellier (CSUM). The gala also marked the 10th anniversary of the first French nanosatellite to be sent into orbit. The event was attended by Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Jean-Claude Gayssot, former Minister and President of the FVA, and Laurent Dusseau, Director of the FVA and CSUM.
University of Montpellier Space Center
Created in 2011, the Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier is the French leader in the development and launch of student nanosatellites. A technology platform of the University of Montpellier, its team of some 30 people welcomes and supervises French and international students, from Bac+2 to Bac+8, for projects or internships. The MUSC boasts a number of facilities a Concurrent Engineering Center (a collaborative work tool for simulating all aspects of a mission to assess its feasibility), Ground Stations (S and UHF band, communicating with the satellite via a radio-frequency link), a control room (piloting and monitoring the mission), a clean room (controlled environment for nanosatellite integration and hosting students enrolled in partner courses to train them in Assembly, Integration and Testing), a thermal vacuum chamber (to reproduce the thermal environment in orbit) and soon a vibrating pot for mechanical testing.
With its positioning as a systems and platform provider, the UM Space Center offers end-users the possibility of carrying out complete missions, embarking payloads or performing technological validation in orbit. The MUSC offers turnkey solutions, from feasibility to operations.
The Van Allen Foundation
Created at the end of 2012, the Fondation Van Allen (FVA), a partnership foundation of the University of Montpellier, strategically and financially supports the UM Space Center. It federates nanospatial players as well as new entrants, and acts as a catalyst to generate collaborative projects. The FVA also helps define training needs. Since its creation, 200 student internships have been financed, with €2.8 million invested in the Montpellier University Space Center and its nanosatellite projects.
The FVA's actions are focused on three objectives: Developing an emerging industry in France (financing MUSC nanosatellite projects), Building and animating a network (organizing conferences for the general public, technical workshops, promoting activities and animating the Club des Partenaires et des Amis de la Fondation), Training the new generation of space talent (financing equipment, internships, theses and supervisory staff).
More than 10 years of existence, projects, technological developments and, above all, support
Starting from scratch, the Van Allen Foundation and the UM's University Space Center have succeeded, through their remarkable work, projects and actions, in gaining legitimacy and a major role in France and Europe. After more than 10 years of technological development and know-how acquisition in nanosatellite design, UM now has its own technology.
A nanosatellite weighs between 1 and 50kg. It enables universities and startups to demonstrate their technology in flight, and/or to carry a scientific instrument called a "payload", at a cost they can afford. ROBUSTA 1A, launched in 2012, was the first French nanosatellite in orbit. Two other nanosatellites have since been launched by the MUSC. One of them, ROBUSTA-1B, launched in June 2017, is still in orbit. Two other nanosatellites are due to be launched from Kourou by VEGA-C in the coming days. ROBUSTA-3A, to be launched in 2023 on the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, will inaugurate the MUSC's new 3U platform as part of the Mediterranean project. Its mission: an experiment to improve meteorological models for forecasting Cevenol episodes.
In 2020, the FVA set up its Scientific Committee to draft calls for ideas, and assess the scientific interest and relevance of responses. By co-financing the selected research projects, the Van Allen Foundation enables the Montpellier University Space Center to focus its nanosatellite missions on promising themes. The project selected in the first call for ideas concerns the detection of plastic waste in the Mediterranean Sea.
The MUSC and the FVA are also a way of opening up to the countries of the South, which fits in perfectly with the I-SITE program of excellence supported by the UM.
As part of a program to acquire skills in the space sector, Djibouti's Ministry of Higher Education and Research sent ten students to Montpellier University for training in 2020. Five have graduated from the Licence professionnelle Assemblage Intégration et Tests and five from the MASTERE Spécialisé Développement des Systèmes Spatiaux. These students, currently based at the Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier, are developing the HYDROSAT Mission to meet Djibouti's data collection needs. Two CubeSats using the MUSC 1U platform are scheduled for launch in early 2023.
In 2021, Senegal's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI-SN), in partnership with the MUSC, has also set up a training program designed to provide Senegal with its own space access capability. This program includes an academic component and the realization of a first space mission with both educational and application objectives.
In short, for over ten years, the Van Allen Foundation and the Centre Spatial Universitaire de l'Université de Montpellier have been involved in transmitting knowledge to all students, drawing on know-how acquired from the biggest names in the French space industry, cutting-edge equipment and 100% Université de Montpellier technology.