OPS-SAT PRETTY
OPS-SAT PRETTY is a 3U CubeSat with a reconfigurable processing platform allowing a broad range of custom software and firmware experiments, which is tightly coupled to a software defined radio (SDR) payload. It also features an attitude control system (ADCS) with a variety of sensors and actuators, i.e. reaction wheels and a GNSS receiver. The spacecraft is operated by Graz University of Technology and experimentation is coordinated by ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt.
General Overview
The PRETTY (Passive REfleTometry and DosimeTrY) spacecraft was designed, developed and operated by an Austrian consortium of Beyond Gravity Austria, Graz University of Technology and Seibersdorf Laboratories under a GSTP contract. Its mission goal was to observe ice and sea level with the help of passive reflectometry as well as perform radiation level measurements with the use of a dosimeter. After its successful mission completion in October 2024, the PRETTY spacecraft joined the OPS-SAT initiative and was incorporated into the OPS-SAT Space Lab in 2025 under the new name OPS-SAT PRETTY.
OPS-SAT PRETTY is a 3U CubeSat capable of providing similar functions to the OPS-SAT-1 satellite.
| OPS-SAT PRETTY Satellite Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Platform | 3U CubeSat (10 x 10 x 34 cm) |
| Mass | 4.6 kg |
| Attitude Determination | Magnetometers, Sun Sensors, Gyro, GNSS |
| Attitude Control | Magnetorquers and Reaction Wheels |
| Communication | VHF and S-Band |
| Power System | Deployable Solar Wings and Body-Panels max. 30W Power Generation Battery |
| Payloads | Processing Platform (SEPP) Software Defined Radio (SDR) GNSS Receiving Antenna (two-patch, for e.g. Reflectometer Measurements) |
The platform of OPS-SAT PRETTY features VHF and S-band TMTC, as well as an ADCS with various sensors and actuators (like magnetometers, sun sensors, gyroscopes, as well as magnetorquers and reaction wheels). In addition, the platform also features a capable GNSS receiver supporting reception of GPS and GALILEO signals.
At the centre of the payload section is the satellite experimental processing platform (SEPP) hosting a highly reconfigurable system-on-chip (SoC). The SEPP is directly connected to the software defined radio (SDR) payload. The SDR payload is completed by a two-patch GNSS receiving antenna.
The spacecraft will be used to allow public, research, and industrial entities to perform in-orbit experiments. The spacecraft subsystems are either equivalent to OPS-SAT-1 e.g. power, SEPP, sun sensors, or functionally improved e.g. SDR, GNSS receiver and ADCS subsystem. Unlike OPS-SAT-1 there is no on-board camera.
Experimentation on OPS-SAT PRETTY is open now, the mission is 100% dedicated to OPS-SAT experiments. The orbit of OPS-SAT PRETTY is a 520km SSO (June 2025).
OPS-SAT PRETTY is funded by the GSTP programme.
Tentative Timeline
