The launch plans were drafted in wake of a 10-month study of the
feasibility of a nano-satellite. Organizers said the research concluded that
nano-satellites could replace global positioning satellites at a huge
savings. Soon, two Israeli companies said they were prepared to help INSA.
"The next step was, 'Let's build one,'" Raz recalled. "So we're building
two."
Organizers said the nano-satellites would be launched from India's
Satish Dhawan Space Center. They said each platform would cost around
$150,000, and that 60 nano-satellites could form a low-earth orbit
constellation for constant coverage of the earth. A standard LEO satellite
costs $15 million.
So far, Boeing has been the only Western defense major to have built and
launched a nano-satellite. Organizers said INSA, founded by Israeli
aerospace engineers in 2006, intends to assemble a constellations of such
micro-platforms in space.
The Israeli nano-satellites would include Israeli and foreign
subsystems. Organizers said Rokar, a subsidiary of BAE Systems, would
provide GPS navigation; Accubeat would supply the atomic clock; ABSL Power
Solutions would install lithium-ion cells. The Israel Institute of
Technology, or Technion, has designed a semiconductor for the onboard
computer.
"We give people the chance to do hands-on development," Raz said.
