It took commander Chris Cassidy just under two hours with the robotic arm to successfully secure the HTV9 supply ship to the Harmony module of the International Space Station (ISS) at 2.13pm AEST on 25 May. Also on board the transport ship was the iSIM-170, a high-resolution camera for Earth observation. This is the first high-resolution optical binocular telescope from Spain to go into space – it was built by Satlantis Microsat and put through its paces by ALTER TECHNOLOGY.
The company from the TÜV NORD GROUP tested both the printed circuit boards and the telescope for their suitability for high radiation exposure, sudden temperature fluctuations, vibrations and much more besides. Equipment sent into space has to satisfy immensely high reliability requirements, and replacing them is extremely expensive.The iSIM 170, which was mounted on a platform by an astronaut, will capture images of our planet at a resolution of almost 80 centimetres. A combination of technologies including optical, mechanical, electronic and artificial intelligence algorithms will, according to the manufacturer, achieve high spatial resolution at significantly lower costs compared to conventional imaging systems
with similar performance.