Smallsat manufacturer and mission integrator NanoAvionics, together with the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and students from the Polytechnic University of Atlacomulco, will develop the first nanosatellite for the State of Mexico, the AtlaCom-1.
Building the smallsat is part of a pilot project to establish a nanosatellite infrastructure for future space missions designed and built by Mexico’s youth.
The NanoAvionics M6P smallsat bus.
The project, starting in September of 2020, is a testimony to the importance of space applications enabled by nanosatellites, which are rapidly becoming essential to national economies. Together, the Mexican Space Agency, led by Dr. Salvador Landeros, appointed director general of AEM in 2019, and NanoAvionics are fostering the advanced skills that Mexican youth will need to bring the country’s space industry forward.
NanoAvionics’ engineers will share their space mission experience and help the students and faculty at the Polytechnic University of Atlacomulco to develop the ATLA-1. The company’s multi-purpose nanosatellite buses are pre-configured and pre-qualified, allowing mission teams to focus on their payloads. As a result, technology development missions can produce results quicker and satellite constellations can enter commercial service much faster.
The project is further supported by the Mayor of Atlacomulco, Roberto Téllez-Monroy, an engineer with a passion for space technology.
F. Brent Abbott
Brent Abbott, the CEO of NanoAvionics US Inc., said the company’s participation in this educational pilot project with the Mexican Space Agency further confirms the firm’s status as a global mission integrator and the company’s determination to advance STEM education. NanoAvionics is continuing its work with universities and is proud to support AEM’s STEM efforts. Benefiting from NanoAvionics’ great expertise and technology, Mexican students will gain prodigious knowledge and skills to participate in their country’s growing space economy and experience the entire development and operation cycle of a space mission. To make sure all members involved in building the nanosatellite are protected, we’ll put the same strict guidelines, safety equipment and measures in place the company is already using in the firm’s manufacturing facilities.”
Mayor Téllez-Monroy added that nanosatellites and other technologies, such as breakthroughs in robotics, 3D-printing and biotech, mark the fourth industrial revolution and promise enormous economic benefits, not only to Mexico, but the entire world. NanoAvionics’ commitment to developing the technical skills of students in Atlacomulco will help building a solid foundation for Mexico’s emerging nanosatellite industry.