Collaboration

COSMOCal collaboration

The project is led by A. Ritacco and F. Boulanger. It involves scientists and engineers from five institutes in the region of Paris: APC, IAP, IAS, Paris Observatory, and LPENS, and the center of expertise in nanosatellites CENSUS; four institutes: LPSC, IPAG, Institut Néel, and IRAM, tied together in Grenoble and IRAP in Toulouse. In Italy, researchers from the observatory of astrophysics and space science (OAS) and the astronomical observatory of Cagliari (OAC) as part of the national institute of astrophysics (INAF), together with the University of Milano-Bicocca, Rome Tor Vergata and Sapienza University contribute to the project. These research institutes have experience with ground and space instrument design and development, microwave observations from the ground and space, and CMB data analysis. Mostly all institutes involved benefit from the Planck collaboration expertise heritage.

Eutelsat partnership

Through CENSUS, we have established a collaboration with EUTELSAT Group. They offer us the possibility to install the COSMOCal source as a guest payload on a satellite in geostationary orbit to be launched in 2029, for the cost of a scientific CubeSat in low earth orbit (LEO).  The EUTELSAT platform satellite will be located 7.3° West. From this longitude along the Earth equator, the COSMOCal source will be seen at an elevation of about 40° for the IRAM and SRT telescopes and of 20° for the telescopes in Northern Chile (Atacama site). The partnership with Eutelsat Group gives us the opportunity to develop and launch COSMOCal into space on a much shorter timescale than is usual for space astronomy.