Australian and Italian space agencies work together on SpIRIT, the satellite "as big as a shoebox"

Michele Trenti, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne, tells us about the Hubble telescope, the collision of two black holes, but also about the latest collaboration between the Italian and the Australian space agencies for the launch of a new satellite.

Rappresentazione del nanosatellite SpIRIT in orbita. / Rendering of the SpIRIT nanosatellite in orbit. Source: M. Trenti, S. Barraclough (The University of Melbourne) e il team SpIRIT. Sfondo: NASA. // M. Trenti, S. Barraclough (The University of Melbourne) and the SpIRIT team. Background image from NASA.

Highlights

• The Australian government has allocated $3.95 million for the construction of the SpIRIT satellite.
• The Italian Space Agency will provide the team led by Professor Trenti with an innovative X-ray detector.
• The satellite should enter into orbit in 2022.

From an early age, Michele Trenti looked at the stars from the Alps of Trentino and wondered what their origin might be.

After graduating and receiving his doctorate from the Normale in Pisa, Professor Trenti began to travel the world to do research, first at the STScI in Baltimore, then at the University of Cambridge, and finally at the University of Melbourne, where he is now an Associate Professor in Physics.

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In June 2020, Professor Trenti and his team received funding from the Australian government for the construction of SpIRIT (Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal Satellite), a satellite that "will be the same size as a shoebox, and will therefore be much cheaper than large telescopes like Hubble".

"Spirit is a telescope that observes the universe at high energy and will therefore allow us to observe cosmic explosions," explained Professor Trenti.

This is not only a scientific project, but also a technological and industrial one that aims to "increase the level of maturity of the Australian space industry, with the aim of tripling the workforce operating in this sector".

This project will also see the participation of the Italian Space Agency, which will provide a Gamma and X-ray instrument that will allow astrophysicists to continue their research efforts.

"As an Italian-Australian I feel very proud to be part of this project that sees the collaboration of these two organisations", said Trenti. 

The new satellite should enter into orbit in 2022. 

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