EPFL’s SwissCube Satellite Control System becomes Elveti at Solenix

24 September 2015

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, 24th of September 2015 – Solenix GmbH and EPFL have entered a license agreement that will allow Solenix to develop and market a satellite control system for nano and small satellites based on the SwissCube Satellite Control System (SCS).

Private companies and universities are increasingly using CubeSats and other small satellites for commercial and technological demonstration purposes. This trend increases the need for a cost-effective, lightweight and flight-proven solution, such as the SwissCube SCS, capable of efficiently handling single-satellite missions, as well as constellations.

The development of the SwissCube SCS started in 2006 for the needs of the SwissCube mission, the first Swiss satellite. It has been used operationally since the launch of the satellite in 2009 and the community operating the satellite still relies on it today.

An upgraded version of the SwissCube SCS is also the core of the solution proposed as baseline mission control system to the teams of the EU-funded QB50 project. The extensibility and versatility of the SwissCube SCS allowed meeting the project requirements with its 50 CubeSats developed by universities around the world in the frame of this project.

Solenix believes that the accumulated experience put into the SwissCube SCS makes it the perfect solution for addressing the challenges of nano and small satellite operators. Moreover, Solenix has gathered extensive knowledge of the system dating back to its early days. EPFL thus considers Solenix as an ideal commercial provider of services related to the SwissCube SCS.

The SwissCube SCS will be integrated into Solenix’s suite of products under the name Elveti. Under this name, the solution will be modernized and extended in partnership with customer representatives. The integration with complementary products from Solenix will additionally extend the solution with a powerful web-based data analysis tool and an intuitive and adaptive dashboard.

About Solenix GmbH

Solenix is an international company providing engineering and consulting services in the space market with a focus on delivering innovative and high-quality software solution and services.

Contact: Alex Baumgartner, alex.baumgartner@solenix.ch

About the Space Engineering Center EPFL

The EPFL Space Engineering Center (eSpace) was established at EPFL in 2014 as a center of excellence for space research. eSpace is active in three key areas: education, development projects and fundamental research. The center coordinates the minor in Space Technologies, which allows master-level students to acquire an extensive formal education in the field. The more theoretical classes are complemented by hands-on multidisciplinary projects, which often lead to the construction of space hardware (e.g. SwissCube, with ~200 students involved). Several projects are currently ongoing at eSpace, including CubETH (a second “CubeSat” and natural successor to SwissCube) and CleanSpace One, which will demonstrate de-orbiting technologies necessary for space debris removal.  The staff of the Space Engineering Center boasts a deep and internationally recognized technical experience in systems engineering, mission design and microsystems.

Contact: Muriel Richard, muriel.richard@epfl.ch