South Australian satellite, Kanyini, has achieved a key milestone with the successful completion of its Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) ahead of the mid-2024 launch at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The robust testing verifies the satellite’s ability to withstand the rigours of space by exposing it to the harsh physical and environmental conditions it is expected to encounter over its operational life.

The critical ESS testing was conducted at the National Space Test Facility (NSTF) at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Fully manufactured in Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen, Kanyini underwent two weeks of challenging trials including exposing the satellite to extreme temperature variations, intense vibrations, and crushing vacuum conditions.

The satellite remained fully operational throughout the testing, passing the screening with flying colours.

With the completion of this testing, the South Australian-based mission team embarking on the final manufacturing phase in readiness for launch.

Once in orbit, Kanyini’s dual Internet of Things and imager payloads will deliver critical space data to be used by government and research institutions to expand their knowledge, particularly in relation to sustainability and climate impacts.

The enhanced onboard processing capability of the Hyperscout 2 imager, together with advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithms, enables smart processing of data directly in orbit, supporting rapid decision-making for time-critical applications such as smoke detection for bushfires and a range of other services.

The Kanyini mission is a collaboration between the South Australian Government, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre as mission lead, Adelaide-based commercial satellite manufacturer Inovor Technologies, and global IoT provider Myriota.

Kanyini will be launched onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-11 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Follow Kanyini’s journey at www.kanyinimission.com.au

Read the full media release here.

_{Feature image: Kanyini ready for Vibration and Shock testing on NSTF’s Electrodynamic shaker with the Kanyini Mission team. From left to right: Nick Manser, Satellite Systems Engineer (SmartSat CRC), Adrian Shuard, Principal Satellite Engineer (Myriota), Raffaele Lacobelli, Spacecraft Software Engineer (Inovor), Daniel Esparon, Electrical Engineering Lead (Inovor), Luke Air, Mechanical Engineering Engineer (Inovor), Nadia Sarunic, Systems Engineer (SmartSat CRC/Nova Systems), Andrew Meldrum, Space & Mission Engineer (Myriota).}