JULIAN FERNANDEZ. CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FOSSA SYSTEMS
Julian Fernandez is the current Co-Founder and CEO of Fossa Systems, a Non-profit Organisation dedicated to the development of picosatellite technologies and more specifically, PocketQubes.
Julian started the development of the first Spanish pocketqube spacecraft, FOSSASAT-1, in mid-2018. This open-source 1P satellite is experimented with new spread spectrum LoRa technology for the internet of things (IoT) and is a demonstrator for the new miniaturized architecture. It launched into orbit on the 10th Electron mission on 6th December 2019. Fossa systems will soon be launching two more demonstrator satellites to test ADCS systems, an earth observation (EO) payload, new IoT repeater capabilities and pulsed plasma propulsion.
Presentation Synopsis:
‘Fossa Systems: Data from Our First PocketQube Mission for IOT’
Current access to space is mainly limited by the inherent cost involved with launching a minimum of typically a cubesat unit into orbit for around the cost of a house. Recent development in miniaturization of technology brought by the smartphone industry and the development of picosatellites are just starting to finally facilitate access to space.
FossaSat-1 is a 5cm sided satellite developed by Fossa Systems, launched in Q4 of 2019 aboard an Electron Rocket it is currently demonstrating its mission in orbit. It is a pocketqube satellite developed with the sponsorship of Everis Aerospace & Defense to demonstrate the creation of an Internet of Things (IoT) network using the new spread spectrum LoRa modulation. FOSSASAT-1 is demonstrating a completely new picosatellite architecture and telecommunications modulation in space. The intention with the development of these picosatellites is the creation of global communications or remote sensing constellations with minimal investment due to their reduced mass and volume. FOSSA Systems will also be launching a small demonstrator constellation of 6 picosatellites using an in-house custom built deployer with LibreSpaceFoundation in Q2 of 2020 testing new active maneuvering pulsed plasma thruster technology, magnetorquer based active attitude control and optical remote earth sensing capabilities.