attempto online
19.03.2025
Tübingen Back in Orbit: A Small Constellation of CubeSats for Great Science
The HERMES Pathfinder (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites), a groundbreaking constellation of six CubeSats, has successfully launched into orbit on 15 March 2025, marking a major milestone in the field of high-energy astrophysics. The mission is led by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), with the University of Tübingen’s Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IAAT) contributing as the sole German partner.
The HERMES Pathfinder CubeSats were launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-13 mission at 7:43 AM Central European Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The six CubeSats are now in a sun-synchronous orbit, approximately 500–520 km above Earth with an inclination of 97.44 degrees, thanks to an ION release platform developed by D-Orbit. The satellites will be deployed sequentially, one per day, starting about a week after launch.
The constellation is designed to monitor high-energy events such as gamma-ray bursts and magnetar flares—rare, explosive phenomena associated with neutron stars. These events are among the most powerful and enigmatic in the universe. The HERMES CubeSats will provide real-time alerts to the scientific community, enabling rapid observations and studies.
The HERMES Pathfinder represents a breakthrough in the field of high-energy multi-messenger astrophysics and the use of nanosatellites for ambitious space missions. Each 3U CubeSat will operate as part of a triplet, capable of detecting and localizing transient astronomical events. These capabilities will dramatically improve the speed and accuracy of high-energy astronomical discoveries.
Professor Andrea Santangelo, head of the High Energy Astrophysics (HEA) section at Tübingen, comments: “This small constellation marks the beginning of a new era for scientific observation with small satellites. Imagine a telescope as large as the orbit they fly in, almost 14,000 kilometers in diameter. HERMES introduces a modular approach to gamma-ray and X-ray observations, which will expand as more elements are added, offering tremendous capabilities for the field of high-energy astronomy.”
Dr. Alejandro Guzman, HERMES mission coordinator at IAAT, explains the critical role Tübingen played in the mission: “We developed the sophisticated onboard electronics and supported the final integration and environmental testing of the satellites, collaborating with top Institutions in a great team. Our main contribution is the ‘Payload Data Handling Unit’, the ‘brain’ of the mission, which has three key roles: interfacing the detector with the spacecraft, controlling the detector’s health, and pre-processing data to detect transient phenomena like gamma-ray bursts.”
Dr. Chris Tenzer, coordinator of experimental activities for space missions in the HEA section, adds: “Precise timing synchronization is essential for pinpointing high-energy events with unprecedented accuracy, and the adoption of a chip-scale atomic clock architecture, proposed by our electronics specialist Samuel Pliego Caballero, is fundamental to HERMES’ ability to function as a distributed telescope. This innovation showcases how cutting-edge engineering solutions can transform nanosatellite capabilities and demonstrates how we can tackle major scientific challenges with small, cost-effective platforms.”
PhD student Paul Hedderman also speaks to the opportunity the mission presents for the next generation of scientists: “HERMES offers a fantastic opportunity for students to work on a mission from construction to scientific operation, allowing us to be part of groundbreaking research without the complexity of large-scale missions. That is a highly rewarding experience!“
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Contact:
University of Tübingen
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IAAT)
Prof. Dr. Andrea Santangelo
Head of the experimental high energy astrophysics group
andrea.santangelo@uni-tuebingen.de
Dr. Alejandro Guzman Cabrera
IAAT HERMES Coordinator
guzman@astro.uni-tuebingen.de