Five times more powerful and ten times smaller than its predecessors, ANGELS has been designed to address the current challenges of New Space: miniaturization, scaled-up performance and very low consumption.
This technological wonder is opening up its services to current users and offering IoT players premium access to this new connectivity. ANGELS gives a first taste of the opportunities provided by Kinéis, the first constellation of European nanosatellites dedicated to IoT. Carrying a state-of-the-art ARGOS instrument, ANGELS is the operationnal proof of the success of the French nanosatellite sector, supported by CNES and leading manufacturers such as Thales Alenia Space, HEMERIA and Syrlinks.
Technology offering a five-time performance increase and greater service capability
ANGELS is so sensitive that transmitters on the ground can reach it with a transmission power of just 100 mW, about a fifth of the power needed by current ARGOS transmitters. It also provides access to a new frequency band, boosting the capabilities of the seven satellites in the current system. These major innovations will enable users to extend the battery life of their transmitters and reduce their size and weight. Data from the 20,000 transmitters are currently processed by the whole system, a figure that will increase to several million by 2030. For biologists, who have been using the ARGOS system with CLS for more than 40 years, this means that their studies can last longer and can include new, smaller species through suitably miniaturized transmitters.
The addition of ANGELS (ARGOS Neo on a Generic Economical and Light Satellite) to the ARGOS satellite fleet, a world reference in the collection of transmitter data for the study and protection of the environment, offers new data collection capabilities. The ARGOS Neo instrument is the first of a new generation: this technological wonder has passed the challenge of miniaturization by being ten times lighter (2 kg) and three times more energy-efficient than previous generations.
