https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201716001001
The BRITE-Constellation Nanosatellite Space Mission And Its First Scientific Results*
1
Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Bartycka 18, 00-716, Warsaw, Poland
2
Instytut Astronomiczny, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, ul. Kopernika 11, 51-622, Wrocław, Poland
3
Institute for Astrophysics, Universität Wien, Türkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180, Wien, Austria
4
Départment de physique, Université de Montréal, C. P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
5
Institut für Kommunikationsnetze und Satellitenkommunikation, Inffeldgasse 12/I, 8010, Graz, Austria
6
Department of Physics, Royal Military College of Canada, PO Box 17000, Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4 Canada
7
Centrum Badań Kosmicznych, Polska Akademia Nauk, Bartycka 18A, 00-716 Warszawa, Poland
8
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 Canada
9
Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25/8, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
10
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z1 Canada
11
Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Automatic Control, Gliwice, Akademicka 16, Poland
12
European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748, Garching b. München Germany
13
LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195, Meudon, France
14
Institut de recherche sur les exoplanétes, iREx, Département de physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada
** e-mail: gerald@camk.edu.pl
Published online: 27 October 2017
The BRIght Target Explorer (BRITE) Constellation is the first nanosatellite mission applied to astrophysical research. Five satellites in low-Earth orbits perform precise optical two-colour photometry of the brightest stars in the night sky. BRITE is naturally well suited for variability studies of hot stars. This contribution describes the basic outline of the mission and some initial problems that needed to be overcome. Some information on BRITE data products, how to access them, and how to join their scientific exploration is provided. Finally, a brief summary of the first scientific results obtained by BRITE is given.
Based on data collected by the BRITE Constellation satellite mission, designed, built, launched, operated and supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Graz, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), the Foundation for Polish Science & Technology (FNiTP MNiSW), and National Science Centre (NCN).
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
