Delfi-C3 is the first university and student satellite ever constructed in the Netherlands. The project is the product of an alliance between TU Delft’s faculties of Aerospace Engineering (AE) and Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS). Students spent over two years building the satellite. Delfi-C3 was launched from India on Tuesday 29 April 2008.
The student satellite is no bigger than a carton of milk and weighs 2.2 kg. The aim of Delfi-C3 is to establish whether using a series of small satellites and their corresponding miniaturised technology offers more flexibility than the large satellites currently used as standard. It should be possible to ‘cut up’ the components of a satellite into a number of satellites which work together; that was the starting principle applied by the students. The major advantage this gives is that the functional components can be built separately and therefore also replaced independently of each other. This can lead to substantially lower launch costs for satellites.
Delfi-C3 will also test new designs for applications in satellite technology. For instance, a new type of solar cell by Dutch Space will be tested on the nanosatellite for durability and efficiency: the Thin Film Solar Cell Experiment. Research institute TNO has mounted a new solar sensor on Delfi-C3, the Autonomous Wireless Sun Sensor Experiment. The third novelty is the inclusion in the satellite of a communication function for amateur radio enthusiasts.
C3 is the first in a series of satellites
Delfi-C3 is a programme in which about thirty students from various TU Delft faculties and one higher professional education institute work together. It is the first in a series of TU Delft student satellites. A new TU Delft student team is already working on the successor to Delfi-C3, Delfi-n3Xt. By 2011, a third satellite will be built.
