The Israeli Nano Satellite Association was set up in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 2006, with the aim of promoting the use of

nanosatellite A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites c ...

s (very small artificial satellites).

History

In 2004 a group of young

space engineers ''Space Engineers'' is a voxel-based sandbox game, developed and published by Czech independent developer Keen Software House. In 2013, the initial developmental release of the game joined the Steam early access program. During the following y ...

and scientists from leading companies and universities in Israel, started studying nanosatellites constellations and applications. INSA - the Israeli Nano Satellite Association was founded in 2006 by this group.

Mission

INSA's mission is to promote the usage of nanosatellites in Israel for various academic and commercial purposes. INSA is also dedicated to promoting space education, technology and science awareness throughout Israel by leading civil nanosatellites projects. INSA aspires to be involved in every nanosatellite project in Israel.

INSA projects

* Nanosatellites Accurate Positioning System (NAPS) is a

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

of nanosatellites that are used to find accurate position, the concept was first presented in Tel Aviv University, evoked great responses and triggered the interest of the Israeli space industry in nanosatellites. * Space Qualification and Heritage Nanosatellites (SQHN). As part of the SQHN project, INSA started construction on two nanosatellites (INSAT-1 and INSAT-2), weighing less than 10 kg each, carrying novel components developed by Israeli

Hi-tech High tech refers to "high technology". It may also refer to: * High-tech architecture, an architectural style that emerged in the 1970s * HiTech, a computer chess program * Hi-Tech Automotive, a car builder and automotive design house * Hi-Tech ( ...

companies such as Rokar, Accubeat and Ramonchips. INSA planned to

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

the satellites on a

Dnepr rocket The Dnepr rocket (; ) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, ...

launcher from

Baikonur Baikonur ( ; ) is a city in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the Russian Federation as an enclave until 2050. It was constructed to serve the Baikonur Cosmodrome with adminis ...

by the end of 2008. * In January 2011 INSA completed development of the first Israeli-made satellite designed for experimental work in space. Named as InKlajn-1, it was intended for launch in 2011 or 2012, and weighed about 1.5kg.

International activities

INSA is also an official sponsor of

CUSAT Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi (Kalamassery and Ernakulam) and one in Kuttanad, Alapp ...

, a

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

university satellite project, along with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

AFRL The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct-energy based aerospace warf ...

, AGI,

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

LORAL Loral may refer to: * Loral Corporation, contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation * Loral Space & Communications, satellite communications company * Loral GZ-22, a non-rigid airshi ...

ORBITAL Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbitof ...

AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

and many others. The professional support of INSA experts was one of the reasons for the Cornell team selection out of 11 different projects to be fully funded (selection done by the AFRL). In the future, INSA will continue supporting CUSAT team and will provide ground receiving services with the collaboration of

ASRI Asri is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Asri Akbar (born 1984), Indonesian footballer * Asri Aspar (born 1996), Bruneian footballer *Asri Muda Mohd Asri bin Muda ( Jawi: ; 10 October 1923 – 28 August 1992) was a Malaysi ...

ground station. INSA is also the Israeli representative of Pumpkin who is a manufacturer of

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...

kits.CubeSat Kit Customers
Pumpkin Inc., accessed 4 February 2016

Events

On May 15, 2007, INSA held the first Israeli

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

on nanosatellites, in IAF House in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

. On January 31, 2008, INSA held the second Israeli

on nanosatellites, as part of the Israeli 3rd International Space Convention. It took place in IAF House in

References

External links

INSA site

Papers from the first Israeli symposium on Nano-Satellites
{{Israeli Space Program, state=autocollapse Space program of Israel