Deep Space

TOGETHER FOR SUCCESSFULL EXPLORATION

HENON

FIRST SMALLSAT OPERATING IN DRO

NEAR REAL-TIME SPACE WEATHER MONITORING

ADVANCED SENSORS

SCIENTIFIC AND COMMERCIAL POURPOSES

HENON

Argotec is the prime contractor and manufacturer of the HENON satellite, which serves as the centerpiece of a revolutionary space mission.

Argotec is the manufacturer of the HENON satellite, which serves as the centerpiece of a revolutionary space mission. The HENON mission will pioneer, explore the use of a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) in the Sun-Earth system, a trajectory never before employed for application and scientific purposes in the study of Space Weather.

HENON will demonstrate the capability for near real-time monitoring of the deep-space environment, offering significant advantages for Space Weather prediction applications and services. When the satellite is in DRO, betweeen the Sun and the Earth, it will be able to provide timely forecasts with significantly reduced warning times.

This ambitious project utilizes a 12U CubeSat, designed and built by Argotec, which is equipped with a suite of advanced sensors. The HENON mission is designed to significantly reduce the time required for space weather prediction while enhancing the ability to anticipate and prepare for the effects of these phenomena. Furthermore, it will contribute to our understanding of plasma processes and the fundamental physical mechanisms of space weather.

HENON mission team is composed by Argotec (Prime), SpaceDyS, INAF, UNICAL, UNIFI.

The operational orbit is divided into two key regions, namely Key Region 1 (KR1) and Key Region 2 (KR2). KR1 includes the longitude range [-60°, +60°] with respect to the Earth-Sun vector. This region is where HENON will demonstrate the near-real-time alert service for Earth. Indeed, thanks to the payloads pointing sunward, the spacecraft will monitor the particle radiation environment and the geoeffective interplanetary perturbations.

KR2, defined as the part of the orbit complementary to KR1, is therefore exploited to better characterise the radiation environment through the high-resolution measurements of the three payloads and to download data to Earth.

[Photo 1] L. Provinciali et al., “HENON - Main challenges of a Space Weather Alerts
CubeSat Mission”, 2024, Proceedings of IEEE Aerospace Conference 2024, p. 5

For the first time, a spacecraft will operate in the unexplored distant retrograde orbit, also demonstrating the reliability of CubeSat technologies in Deep Space.

This mission is part of ASI's ALCOR program and implemented through a ESA-GSTP project. It represents a significant advancement in space research and technological innovation.

With the HENON mission, Argotec continues to push the boundaries of human knowledge and technological capabilities, solidifying its role as a leader in space exploration.