Аннотация:D.V. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University is developing a project `Universat-SOCRAT` of a system of small satellites for monitoring of the space threats: ionizing radiation, potentially dangerous objects of natural (asteroids, meteoroids) and artificial (space debris) origin, and electromagnetic transients of Earth`s and space origin.
One of the primary tasks for this satellite system is operational (close to `real time`) monitoring of the fluxes of energetic charged particles in the wide range of Earth`s radiation belts. For this purpose at least two satellites with a mass <50-100 kg will be launched. One of them will have an orbit close to circular with a height of about 1500 km and an inclination of ~80°. The second one will be launched to an elliptical orbit with height of perigee and apogee ~700 and 8000 km and inclination 63.4°, which crosses wide range of magnetic drift shells at different altitudes. Satellites will be equipped with multidirectional spectrometers of energetic protons and electrons.
Another satellite will be launched to Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. It provides the payload mass about 100 kg and its aims besides the radiation monitoring also should be observation of other space hazards, such as space debris and asteroids and electromagnetic transients. Space debris and asteroids should be observed by several wide-field cameras and robotic telescopes of MASTER type. Satellite may also carry number of detectors for study of electromagnetic transients in different wavelength ranges - from infrared to gamma. This means observation of such phenomena, as transient luminous events (TLE) in the atmosphere, terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGF), cosmic gamma ray bursts (GRB) and solar flares in hard X-rays and gamma rays.