A Sol–Gel based magneto-optical device for the NANOSAT space mission

Abstract

On December 2004, the Spanish Space Agency INTA (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) launched the first nanosatellite called NANOSAT (Fig. 1) on board an European rocket Ariane 5, from the French Guyana. The satellite consists of a hexagonal device of <19 kg of weight with a diameter of about 50 cm, which describes a LEO orbit of 655 km of altitude. The main objective of the satellite is to probe the operation and performance of micro- and nanotechnologies in space environment. One of the scientific experiments implemented on board was the Sol–Gel based magnetic nanosensor.