One Year in Orbit: AGILE Satellite TCS Performance

The ASI (Italian Space Agency) AGILE satellite has been launched on April, 23^rd 2007 by a PSLV rocket from Shrikariota spaceport, in India.

Its payload, called AGILE as well (for Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero) is an instrument for near-earth space research: its scientific instrumentation has optimal imaging capabilities in both the gamma-ray energy range (30 MeV - 30 GeV) and hard X-ray range (15 - 45 keV). It will study all the phenomena occurring in the high energy spectrum, such as: Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma Ray Bursts, Gamma-ray Galactic Diffuse Emission, and more.

The first 10 months in orbit are reviewed, in light of the thermal control system performance compared with the numerical and experimental predictions.