Trisat-R

An ESA-financed nanosatellite, due to lift off aboard the inaugural flight of Vega-C this Wednesday, will operate an AI system in the harsh, radiation-wracked environment of the Van Allen Belts. The shoebox-sized Trisat-R – one of six ‘CubeSats’ on the flight, headed up to a rarely-trafficked nearly 6000 km orbital altitude – is also carrying radiation-detection payloads from CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research, Slovenian firm SkyLabs and ESA itself.