Learn more about our Master's programmes at one of our Master's Info Evenings! Benefit from personal conversations with our students and programme directors and find out which programme could help you excel in your career.
Our student Kristin graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University. She shares why she chose Frankfurt School and our Master of Finance. Read her story here!
Our Master of Finance programme combines a structured approach and gives our students the flexibility to set their own focus by specialising in one of four concentrations.
This module lays the foundations of general statistical principles with an underlying focus on economic and financial applications. Concepts studied include probability, probability distributions, confidence intervals and regression analysis. The module aims for you to understand the difference between randomness and systematic skill, especially in the context of financial and economic management.
This course aims to familiarise you with key concepts of macro- and monetary economics. More specifically, it introduces you to the concepts of Neo-Classical and Keynesian macroeconomic models by covering the labour, goods, capital and money markets, in addition to their respective implications in the application of monetary and fiscal policy as tools for stabilising the price level, as well as generating output and creating employment. In the monetary economics section the course focuses on the functions of money, the money supply and monetary policy transmission process, targets, rules and strategies as well as monetary policies in small open economies.
This module focuses on external financial reporting, including principles of financial statement preparation, their interpretation and evaluation. The first classes lay foundational knowledge about standard-setting principles and how they translate into actual financial reports. Students further gain an understanding on managerial incentives in external reporting and in the resulting need to critically evaluate such reports from an outsider perspective, including empirical assessments of accounting quality and approaches for detecting earnings management. We will discuss how to make inferences about strategic and operating business decisions using ratio analyses, highlighting how managerial decisions have direct consequences in financial reports. The course concludes with a discussion of credit analysis, i.e., the evaluation of a firm's creditworthiness based on their financial reports, and some insights into forecasting (pro-forma) financial statement for equity analysis, business development, consulting, etc.
This module introduces you to the fundamental tools of modern corporate finance and asset valuation.
You will learn how to apply the present value rule and no-arbitrage arguments to value stocks, bonds and plain-vanilla derivatives. Mean-variance portfolio choice is also introduced and includes an in-depth look into the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the efficient market hypothesis.
You will also cover the analysis of financial decision making within a firm. This includes choosing projects that firms should invest in (capital budgeting) and choosing specific financing for these projects (Financial Structure Decisions), where the Modigliani and Miller (1958) theories are used as a key starting point.
This module focuses on corporate governance, corporate investment decisions, corporate financing, and payout policy. You will take the position of a corporate decision makers that applies analytical methods in real-life case studies. The course will enable you to design corporate governance structures, make educated investment and financial decisions, and evaluate corporate financial decisions.
The Luxembourg Offsite is a three day trip integrated into the compulsory "Responsible Management in Finance" module.
You will be given an introduction to Luxembourg as a European Financial Centre and the career opportunities that it offers. This is done through networking activities with our Luxembourg based FS Alumni and Corporate Contacts, and also allows for teambuilding amongst students.
You will learn about sustainability in finance through working on case studies and attending an exclusive lecture by Prof. Dr. Hakan Lucius, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Civil Society at the European Investment Bank. The lecture explores investing in a sustainable matter, how to integrate sustainability into finance, and the implications of environmental sustainability on finance.
This module gives you the ability to value and apply the most important financial instruments in different contexts. These include stocks, bonds and derivatives including swaps, FRAs, futures, options and credit derivatives. The module also gives an introduction to financial modelling using Excel and VBA. You are expected to utilise the resources in our Finance Lab and to complete the Bloomberg Markets Concepts tutorial.
In-depth exposure to market and credit risk allows you to grasp the theories and significance of risk management in financial institutions. On completion, you will be able to apply risk measurement and management to banking scenarios.
This module allows you to become familiar with the possibilities of computing and analysing in the area of big data. Beginning with grasping a thorough understanding of computers as a tool in the area of big data (i.e. programming), you will learn how to handle data and later develop data analysis and machine learning skills. Frankfurt School will then prepare you for applying these teachnical concepts to financial problems.
Management in finance, although extremely rewarding, leaves you with challenges concerning personal values, conflict, power management and influencing.
The Responsible Management in Finance course addresses these challenges by viewing the finance professional as a steward of the global economy.
You will learn to apply your fully-formed and creditable values to the workplace. We cover key insights of behavioral ethics and work in groups to distinguish what helps and hinders ethical expression. Physically practicing methods of ethical expression that are demonstrated in the Giving Voice to Values and Values Education curriculums, prepares you for the real working world.
You will also explore economic stewardship, defining corporate power, the means of earning it and the necessity of legitimacy. We use stakeholder analysis, including the stakeholder 'hats' or capacities, to investigate the social and environmental impacts of business, whilst simultaneously learning about the evolving expectations of business and considering human rights.
Finally, you will learn about the important role that corporate governance structures and processes (and the growing willingness of shareholders to use them) have assumed in aligning corporate behavior with the expectations of shareholders and other stakeholders.
Each student will choose one of four concentrations (see below) to focus on during their studies. Each concentration has a set curriculum of core modules to be completed.
A range of electives including Renewable Energy Finance, Digital Marketing and Diversity Management allow you to tailor your Master of Finance through a diverse and distinctive structure of time formats and block weeks. Electives are taught not only by in-house faculty, but also by leading international practitioners, providing you with the tools to meet your personal aspirations. Elective options are published at the end of third semester and students must choose 2 elective modules to start in their last semester.
Here you can find the entire list of electives that we offer for the upcoming 2019 summer semester.
Each student is required to conduct independent research in order to complete their Master's thesis. The thesis period usually lasts three months and normally takes place at the end of the 4th semester. In preparation for their Master's thesis, students participate in a Research Methods workshop, introducing them to both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Two supervisors advise students in designing and implementing their research and also asses their thesis once completed.
Students have the option to study at one of our international partner universities and use the credits gained during the semester abroad to replace the electives in semester 4.
The Master of Finance was the first Master's degree offered by Frankfurt School and to this day it remains the largest of our postgraduate programmes. The programme is featured in the world´s top ranking for business schools: Financial Times pre-experience Masters in Finance ranking.
Frankfurt School´s Master of Finance is a member of the CFA Institute University Affiliation Programme. This status is granted to institutions whose degree programme(s) incorporate at least 70% of the CFA Programme Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK), thus providing students with a solid grounding in the CBOK and thoroughly preparing them for the CFA exams.
Every spring we offer our students and alumni the opportunity to participate in CFA preparation courses. Together with Top Finance and Kaplan Schweser, we give interested students and alumni the opportunity to join an intensive five-day review week from level I to level III.
All current FS students and those already admitted will receive a 20% discount.
Up to two elective modules may be waived for Master of Finance students who have passed the CFA Level I exam and/or are selected to participate in the CFA Research Challenge. Students will need to submit their waiver application to programme management by the deadlines provided during the course of studies.
Frankfurt School is proud to have participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge for six years running. The annual global competition provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis, testing analytics, valuation, report writing and presentation skills.
On February 5, 2019, five Master of Finance students particpated in the national finals of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. Only three of twelve German universities had qualified for the German finals. The students conducted an extensive company analysis of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co.KGaA. They submitted a written report with a sell, buy or hold recommendation for the company's stock. In the final, they had the chance to present their research results to a jury of four esteemed CFA charter holders.
The Master of Finance, with the Risk Management concentration and the Master in Risk Management & Regulation are the first programmes in Germany to be accredited by GARP as covering at least 70% of the body of knowledge of the Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) Part I examination.
who have passed the FRM Part I exam. Students should submit their application for waiver to programme management by deadlines provided during the course of studies.
FIRM is supporting our Master of Finance students with a number of generous scholarships. Candidates applying for this specialisation may be awarded a scholarship covering up to two semester fees. In addition to that members of this concentration will have the opportunity to win the monetary Risk Management award, which will be presented during the graduation ceremony.
Since May 2018 our Master of Finance is official partner of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association®. From now on students as well as faculty have access to the CAIA Association´s curriculum in order to successfully become a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). This includes scholarships for the CAIA – Level I and Level II, access to the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM) Hedge Fund Database as well as to publications of the CAIA Association.
Through the new partnership Frankfurt School offers four scholarships for students entering the March and September 2019 exam sessions.
You have the option to take up to 2 electives abroad and complete your Master's thesis in a location of your choice.
IE Business School and Frankfurt School have signed a strategic agreement to launch joint finance education initiatives. The agreement will enable students of both institutions to take part in semester exchange programmes and shorter study trips to the Schools` Madrid and Frankfurt campuses including career and networking events as well as company visits in both locations. Read the full story.
The Master of Finance follows a unique time model that permits you to work part-time whilst pursuing your full-time Master's degree. We call this the "3-day Model".
Students typically attend classes three days a week, either on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays or on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. This leaves three working days during the week for self-study, language courses or part-time employment. Some lectures or excursions are organised as blocked week events.
*1st semester modules may be waived based on prior academic study and subject to approval by the progamme director.
Applicants with a finance related degree may be eligible to complete the programme in 3 semesters and start in the summer term. Please contact us for more information.
Frankfurt School strongly believes in a well-rounded education, and the Master of Finance is no exception. Innovative in-class teaching methodologies are supplemented by various workshops and activities to enhance the overall learning experience.
Our Master of Finance programme is based on a mixture of theoretical learning, supported by and reinforced with case studies and group work, following the Harvard model of teaching.
Frankfurt School's close ties to the finance industry are evident in the guest lecture opportunities. Students can network with innovators and industry veterans regularly from their own university.
The Frankfurt School Financial Lab hosts workshops on Bloomberg, an important tool in the finance industry. Trainings on Visual Basics for Excel have also taken place in the past.
In cooperation with the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute Ltd. in Mumbai (BSE), Indian students in the Master of Science in Finance have the option to take the first of four semesters at the BSE Institute campus in Mumbai, whereby the last three semesters take place at the Frankfurt School campus in Germany.
Master of Finance students have access to finance conferences organized by FS Publishing House, e.g. M&A and Private Equity, Renewable Energy Finance, etc.
The Master of Finance is taught entirely in English. However, German classes are provided for all non-German speaking students throughout the duration of the programme. We strongly encourage our students to learn German before they arrive in Frankfurt in order to improve their employment opportunities.
For the first time, CFA Prep Courses will be hosted at FS (offered by Kaplan Schweser). Date: May 14-18. All FS students and alumni get a 20% discount.
Frankfurt School encourages students to participate in various challenges and competitions throughout the year, giving selected students the opportunity to prove themselves and compete against other top universities worldwide.
On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, five students of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management won the German final of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. With their financial analysis and business valuation of the biotech company BRAIN AG, the students convinced the four-member expert jury at the Germany headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. in Frankfurt am Main. In the finals Frankfurt School beat RWTH Aachen and Technische Hochschule Nürnberg.
The team will represent FS in the European final in Dublin on April 4, 2018.
For the second time a team of four Master of Finance students won the annual Global Investment Banking Valuation Olympiad in 2017! Edging out one hundred teams in a three stage competition, they went on to win the London final, hosted by Greensea Capital LLP, an M&A Advisory firm.
The team comprised by Christopher-Michael Paasch, Felipe Omar Francis Nereira, Thorben Post and Torben Nagel, all from the class of 2018. Past winners include INSEAD (2013), Polytechnic University of Milan (2014), and the University of Stirling (2016). Link to full article here.
Yizhi, Tianxiao and Yihan, a team of three MoF students, edged out 443 competitors from 45 schools to emerge winners of the 2016 Regional PRMIA Risk Management Challenge, a case study competition that provides students with the opportunity to solve real world problems with a risk management focus.
Our students travelled to London to take part in the Regional Final which entailed developing an FX risk mitigation framework for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). We headed to Chicago for the finals where we competed globally following our success in London.
Frankfurt School will once again sponsor three teams for the annual Business Game St. Gallen, taking place in April. The two-and-a-half-day case study competition, hosted by St. Gallen Business School in Switzerland, attracts participants from universities across Europe. Students will tackle corporate strategy, marketing and CSR case studies and will then present to a jury of leading Swiss and international company representatives and academics. Last year's team were extremely successful and this year's team hopes to follow in their footsteps.
This year, we are sponsoring seven Master students to participate in the HEC Business Game. Students will take part in various strategy challenges and present their solutions to the respective companies. Last year's competition involved 154 students from 46 different universities. Frankfurt School won two challenges and several team members earnt summer internships at the respective companies.
"Frankfurt School has strongly impacted my career; I had the opportunity to make valuable contacts, the study model allowed me to work 3 days a week whilst studying full-time and finally, the teaching prepared me with the required skills demanded in today's financial markets."
"The modules provide in depth content delivered by excellent professors with academic and practical experience. Guest speaker lectures give the chance to get first-hand advice from working professionals and studying in one of the world's major financial hubs brings enormous networking possibilities."
"I chose Frankfurt School because it is Germany's top business school but it turned out to be much more than I expected! The non-trivial engagement of professors puts young FS on the same level as top traditional universities in the world."
"Studying abroad in Argentina was academically and personally the best experience of my life, there were clear developments in my approach to my studies and career. This great intercultural exchange expanded my international network and allowed me to make life-long friends."
Our exclusive corporate connections allow you to build a strong network for your career. Our Careers Services team are always available to provide you with individual consultations on careers in business and management. This, along with our regular guest lectures and company visits, plus the opportunity to work part-time throughout your full-time studies, leaves you in the spotlight for employment after graduation.
Why did our students choose FS?
The application portal will open on 10 May 2019. The links will be provided via e-mail. Please contact us for more information and if you have any questions about the process.
Successful applicants will be invited to an Assessment Centre and Frankfurt School Admission Test, if applicable.
The final decision regarding your Master in Finance admission will be based on a combination of undergraduate grades, English language abilities, admission test results, and interview performance.
The Master of Finance programme begins on 26th August, 2019. All students are expected to be at Frankfurt School on this day. For non-EU applicants who require a visa to enter Germany, please bear in mind that it can take up to two or three months to obtain the necessary visa.
Would you like to get first-hand experience of what the Master of Finance is really like? Meet the Programme Director, talk with current students, take part in a classroom lecture, or tour our campus. It's all possible through individually scheduled sample lectures and our regular Master Evenings.
Learn more about our Master programmes at one of our Master Evenings! Benefit from personal conversations with our professors and programme directors and find out which programme could help you excel in your career.
Your degree is an investment in your professional future. As a business school of international standing, we not only offer you ideal conditions for gaining / obtaining a degree – we also offer you excellent career prospects.
And since we can guarantee the quality of our teaching and research, we also expect the highest levels of commitment and motivation from our students.
The Klaus-Peter Müller Scholarship is offered to students with an outstanding profile who have performed remarkably during their previous studies, and are now planning to join a Master or MBA full-time programme at Frankfurt School.


Cultivation: They require an exposure in full sunny and well-ventilated environment with a minimum temperature of 6-7 ° C. Watering frequency: normal.
Curiosity: The name of this family of plants means, literally, "chalice with thorns" (from Greek ákantha, thorns, and cályx, chalice). The slivers on the floral tube and on the ovary are in fact changed in thorns.
Originally from the humid warmth of the Andes and the Pampas, the plants of the genus Acanthocalycium are decorative species that are appreciated either for the beauty of their colors and for the abundant blooms. The plants have round or cylindrical shape as long as they are young. They become more elongated as they grow, moving from almost perfect spheres to more elliptical shapes. Along the stem there are numerous ribs, up to 19-20 on adult plants, with large spiny and fluffy areolas that help us to distinguish them from other cacti.
They are of a greenish-gray color with nuances tending towards the yellow. The thorns are darker at the base and tend to be silver on the tip. When the plant is young the color is more lively and marked. The beauty of these plants, however, has to do with the great flowers that it produces in abundance. The flowering begins in spring and continues throughout the summer: on the top of the Acanthocalycium it is easy to notice squamous floral tubes (the "spiny chalices" that give them the name) from which large bellflower blooms with lively colors, generally yellow or red, or delicate tones that blend from pink to purple – according to the variety chosen. Only the plants with more than three years produce flowers – this is the time they need to reach full maturity.
Since the classification of these species is still ongoing, it is easy to find different classifications (some still report, for example, the Glaucum under the Acanthocalycium genus, while others do not even include Ferrari). There are even more extreme positions: some botanists, in particular, consider all kinds of Acanthocalycium as a subgenre of Echinopsis.
A position in the sun, or very bright.
A temperature never below 6 ° C. In winter it is therefore necessary to place them in a sheltered environment.
Abundant watering in summer, indicatively every three, four days. In the winter, however, you can proceed with one weekly watering. In any case, be sure the soil is completely dry before proceeding with the next watering.
A mixture of normal but well drained soil. Proceed with abundant fertilizers at least once a month months from May to October.
The plants remain small in size (up to 15-20 cm in height for 10-15 cm in diameter) and therefore there is usually no need for repotting.
Various species of Acanthocalycium reproduce by seed, which must be used fresh and placed in a wet soil. The optimum temperature for seed germination is the one of a temperate environment about 18-27 ° C.


Cantigny Golf continues to enjoy more recognition for its extensive Player Development programs. Most recently, Emily Burns has been selected by U.S. Kids as a Top 50 Kids Coach worldwide for the class of 2018. This is a notable achievement, and recognition fitting to Emily's dedication to introducing and advancing our youth in the game of golf.
Emily joined Cantigny in 2008 to manage the Youth Links – a 9-hole course dedicated to youth golf – and remains there to this day. In her time at the Youth Links, Emily has developed successful programs and activities for junior golfers to learn and enjoy the game in a stress-free environment. Among Emily's achievements are expanded competitive and tournament offerings, growth of league play and programs encouraging young golfers to play multiple times through the golf season.
Emily has also been instrumental in helping grow Cantigny's youth development instructional program. Most notably, Emily introduced and developed our current "Pee Wee" and "Little Linker" programs, which provide opportunities for juniors ages 4-7 to be involved in the game. Emily has also been influential in enhancing other areas of our youth instruction program, which now hosts more than 1,500 juniors annually.
Emily's recognition joins a growing list of accolades for Cantigny. In 2018 alone, besides Emily's award, Cantigny Golf Academy's Greg Baresel was named among top in the Midwest for Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America listing. Additionally, Cantigny Golf was selected for the Player Development award in 2018 by the National Golf Course Owners Association.


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If you want to extend your house or property for rent and make it more valuable, you can use the professional services of our experienced builders. They can offer you the loft and basement conversion you need, creating of new buildings and constructions, many innovations which will increase your property. You can order installation of a shed, patio and conservatory. Whatever you needs and ideas are, our trustworthy builders are ready to implement them in a professional way. Our company is located in Richmond, TW9, where we provide our affordable services. We work every day in the week for our customers' convenience.
Our construction and design specialists are definitely the team you need if you plan to extend your house and make another room in it that you will be able to use for whatever you want. We will come to you and give you the most appropriate tips on house extension and then, of course, create the best room according to your needs and demands. Our workers will provide you with the ideal conservatory or another space which you will love. You can always get all this if you call us in Richmond, TW9 or anywhere around in London. Do not hesitate.


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You are here Home › Satellite Missions › Missions Database › S › SIMBA
SIMBA (Sun-earth IMBAlance)
ESA's SIMBA CubeSat is a tiny mission with a big ambition: to measure one of the fundamental drivers of climate change in a new way. The 3U CubeSat will turn from Earth to space to the Sun and back again, to calculate our planet's overall energy budget. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
SIMBA was developed for ESA by a consortium led by Belgium's Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) with the University of Leuven and ISIS (Innovative Solutions in Space) of Delft, the Netherlands.
"This is the kind of scientific instrument we'd otherwise place on a full-size satellite platform," explains Stijn Nevens, Simba principal investigator at RMI.
Figure 1: SIMBA is a 3-unit CubeSat mission to measure the TSI (Total Solar Irradiance) and Earth Radiation Budget climate variables with a miniaturized radiometer instrument (image credit: RMI)
"But if we can make this work on a smaller, cheaper CubeSat, then we might be able to build and fly multiple versions of this instrument in the future, to cover the entire planet for the equivalent cost of a single traditional mission. That is important because the variable we aim to measure is crucial.
"The main origin of climate change is that an increasing amount of heat from the Sun is being retained within the atmospheric system. To quantify that directly we need to measure how much solar energy Earth is receiving – we call this the total solar irradiance – then how much of this is being reflected by the Earth's surface and atmosphere, or being radiated out as longer-wavelength heat energy.
"Subtracting the second from the first, we end up with a figure for Earth's radiation budget – the amount of energy our planet holds onto rather than reflects or radiates away.
"We already have a class of instruments to measure irradiated energy, called radiometers, which convert it into electrical power for measuring purposes. Downward-looking radiometers are flying for instance on Europe's Meteosat satellites in geostationary orbit, as well as the US family of CERES instruments in lower orbits. Then there are Sunward-facing radiometers on satellites like SOHO and PROBA-2.
"But while their results have high relative accuracy, they require a lot of additional modelling to take account of factors such as diurnal differences and surface variations. They accordingly come with a large margin of error, while the instruments themselves possess inherent biases. For sharper climate change modelling we need to do better."
Figure 2: Simba for solar irradiance measurements. Simulated results from the Simba CubeSat mission, which will employ a radiometer to measure solar irradiance levels across Earth's surface to help study meteorology and climate change (image credit: ESA)
SIMBA is a 3U CubeSat with dimensions of 30 x 10 x 10 cm and with a mass of 4 kg. The satellite was to be originally part of the QB50 constellation, but eventually dropped out.
The SIMBA nanosatellite consists of 3 main building blocks:
• Satellite generic functions (avionics), specified by RMI, and assembled by ISIS (Innovative Solutions In Space BV, Delft, The Netherlands.
•	ADCS (Attitude Determination and Control System) of the Catholic University of Leuven.
•	Payload, developed by RMI.
Simba is equipped with a specially-developed CubeSat-optimized ADCS, contributed by the University of Leuven. This includes an experimental star tracker camera to fix its position against the star constellations in the sky and 'reaction wheels' whose shifting rate of spin cause the nanosatellite to shift its attitude in reaction.
Dr. Nevens adds: "This ADCS will give Simba a pointing accuracy of 0.1 degrees, which also enhances the overall accuracy of our data. We will achieve traceability, being able to know precisely where and at what we are looking at any one time."
Simba has been supported by BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy Office) through the 'Fly' element of ESA's GSTP (General Support Technology Program), readying promising technologies for space.
Figure 3: Simba in launch configuration. The Simba CubeSat in closed state ready to be fitted into its launch pod (image credit: RMI)
Launch: The SIMBA 3U CubeSat was launched as a passenger payload at 01:51 UTC, 03:51 CEST on 3 September, 2020 (22:51 local time on 2 September in Kourou).The launch vehicle was the VEGA SSMS (Small Spacecraft Mission Service) Proof Of Concept flight. 6)
Orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit; target orbit for the 7 microsatellites: altitude of 515 km, inclination of 97.45º; target orbit for the 46 nanosatellites: altitude of 530 km, inclination = 97.51º. The nominal mission duration (from liftoff to separation of the 53 satellites) is: 1 hour, 44 minutes and 56 seconds.
Passenger payloads (53) of the Vega rideshare mission
Arianespace has realized the first European "rideshare" mission for small satellites, with 53 satellites onboard the Vega launcher for 21 customers from 13 different countries. With this new SSMS (Small Spacecraft Mission Service) shared launch concept, Arianespace demonstrates its ability to respond – in an innovative and competitive manner – to institutional and commercial requirements of the growing market for small satellites. The total satellite launch mass was 1,327 kg. 7)
With the demonstration of its new SSMS service, Arianespace is strengthening its position in the growing market for small satellites. This service will soon be supplemented by the MLS (Multi Launch Service) – a similar offer available on Ariane 6, allowing Arianespace to increase the number of affordable launch opportunities for small satellites and constellations.
• ESAIL is a maritime microsatellite with a mass of 112 kg for AIS (Automatic Identification System) ship tracking operated by exactEarth. Is was built by a European manufacturing team led by the satellite prime contractor Luxspace. ESAIL features an enhanced multiple antenna-receiver configuration for global detection of AIS messages and high-resolution spectrum capture, which will enable the demonstration of advanced future services such as VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) message reception. 8)
• Lemur-2, eight 3U CubeSats built by Spire Global Inc., San Francisco, CA . These satellites carry two payloads for meteorology and ship traffic tracking. The payloads are: STRATOS GPS radio occultation payload and the SENSE AIS payload.
• TriSat is a 3U CubeSat (5 kg) imaging mission led by the University of Maribor, Slovenia. The mission is focused on remote sensing by incorporating a miniaturized multispectral optical payload as the primary instrument, providing affordable multispectral Earth observation in up to 20 non-overlapping bands in NIR-SWIR (Near to Short Wave Infrared) spectrum.
• The launch integrator company Spaceflight Inc. of Seattle WA is providing its services for four different customers with a total of 28 satellites. These are:
a)	NewSat-6 (also written as ÑuSat-6), is a low Earth orbit commercial remote sensing microsatellite (43.5 kg) designed and manufactured by Satellogic S.A. with HQs in Argentina, a vertically integrated geospatial analytics company that is building the first Earth observation platform with the ability to remap the entire planet at both high-frequency and high-resolution. This is Satellogic's 11th spacecraft in orbit, equipped with multispectral and hyperspectral imaging capabilities and it will be added to the company's growing satellite constellation.
b)	14 Flock-4v, 3U CubeSats, next-generation SuperDove satellites of Planet Inc., San Francisco, they will join its constellation of 150 Earth-imaging spacecraft.
c)	SpaceBEE, 12 (.25U) picosatellites of Swarm Technology which provide affordable global connectivity.
d)	Tyvak-0171, an undisclosed minisatellite of Tyvak, developed by Maxar with a mass of 138 kg.
• Planet Inc. of San Francisco launches a total of 26 Flock 4v SuperDoves on this mission. They will be split into two batches on the same launch: 14 of them will be housed inside and deployed from ISL's QuadPack deployers and the remaining 12 will be deployed from D-Orbit's InOrbit Now (ION) freeflying deployment platform. 9)
• Athena, a communications minisatellite mission (138 kg) of PointView Tech LLC, a subsidiary of Facebook. The objective is to provide broadband access (internet connectivity) to unserved and underserved areas throughout the world.
• AMICalSat, a 2U CubeSat, an educational mission, developed by CSUG (University of Grenoble Alpes, France) and MSU-SINP (Lomonosov Moscow State University-Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Russia). The objective is to take pictures of the Northern light in order to reconstruct the particle precipitation into the polar atmosphere. The payload is a very compact, ultra-sensitive wide filed imager (f=23mm, aperture f/1.4). Firstly, AMICal Sat will observe auroras using nadir pointing, i.e. by determining the center of the Earth to map and link the geographical position of the auroral oval and its internal structures with solar activity. Secondly, the CubeSat will perform image capture 'in limbo' through tangential orientation with the Earth to capture the vertical profile of the auroras and match an altitude to their various emissions.
• PICASSO, a 3U CubeSat mission (mass of 3.8 kg) developed for ESA ( European Space Agency) led by BISA (Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy), in collaboration with VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Clyde Space Ltd. (UK) and the CSL (Centre Spatial de Liège), Belgium. The goal is to develop and operate a scientific 3U CubeSat.
• GHGSat-C1 of GHGSat Inc., Montreal, Canada, is the first of two nanosatellites (~16 kg) as the commercial follow-on to the GHGSat-D (CLAIRE) demonstration satellite developed and launched by UTIAS/SFL of Toronto in 2016. GHGSat monitors industries greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality gas (AQG) emissions, including: oil & gas, power generation, mining, pulp & paper, pipelines (natural gas), landfill, chemicals, metals & aluminum, cement, agriculture, and transportation.
• NEMO-HD of SPACE-SI (Slovenian Center of Excellence for Space Sciences and Technologies) is a microsatellite (65 kg) developed at UTIAS/SFL of Toronto, Canada in cooperation with SPACE-SI. The NEMO-HD (Next-generation Earth Monitoring and Observation-High Definition) satellite is a high precision interactive remote sensing mission for acquiring multispectral images and real time HD video.
• FSSCat (Federated Satellite Systems on Cat) is the winner of the 2017 Copernicus Master "ESA Sentinel Small Satellite Challenge (S3)". Proposed by the Universitat Politèctica de Catalunya (UPC) and developed by a consortium composed of UPC (ES), Deimos Engenharia (PT), Golbriak Space (EE), COSINE (NL) and Tyvak International (IT).
• Phi-Sat-1 (Φ-Sat-1) is the first on-board ESA initiative (6U CubeSat) on Artificial Intelligence (AI) promoted by the Φ Department of the Earth Observation Directorate and implemented as an enhancement of the FSSCat mission. Among mission objectives, scientific goals are Polar Ice and Snow monitoring, soil moisture monitoring, terrain classification and terrain change detection (i.e. hazard detection and monitoring, water quality), while technological goals are optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) demonstration.
• The RTAFSAT-1 (Royal Thai Air Force Satellite-1) mission, also referred to as NAPA-1, is a 6U CubeSat, the first remote sensing CubeSat mission for Thailand. The satellite will carry out an Earth Observation Demonstration mission with SCS Gecko Camera and Simera TriScape-100 payloads; the designed lifetime is 3 years.
• DIDO-3, a commercial 3U CubeSat mission of SpacePharma. The objective is to gather data by researching the effects of a microgravity environment on biological materials. SpacePharma from Israel will be is on board of SSMS POC with DIDO-3 Nanosatellite to perform biological experiment under Microgravity for several customers involved in pharmaceutical business, supported by Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Israeli Space Agency (ISA). Dido-3 will be monitored from the Ground Station developed by SpacePharma in Switzerland.
• SIMBA (Sun-Earth Imbalance), a 3U CubeSat mission led by the Royal Meteorological Institute Belgium, The objective is to measure the TSI (Total Solar Irradiance) and Earth Radiation Budget climate variables with a miniaturized radiometer instrument. This mission will help in the study of the global warming. This science mission will have a design lifetime of 3 years and the satellite performances will be monitored from ground station located in The Netherlands.
• TARS-1, a 6U CubeSat of Kepler Communications, developed at ÅAC Clyde Space for IoT (Internet of Things) applications. TARS-1 features deployable solar arrays, software defined radios (SDR), a narrowband communications payload and high gain antennas.
• OSM-1 Cicero, the first nanosatellite developed in Monaco by OSM (Orbital Solutions Monaco engineers, a 6U CubeSat with a mass of ~10 kg) based on the Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems design. OSM plans to build nanosatellites to gather environment and climate data.
• TTU100, a 1U CubeSat developed at the Tallin University of Technology, Estonia. The objective is to test earth observation cameras and high-speed X-band communications. It will perform remote sensing in the visible and IR electromagnetic spectrum.
•	UPMSat-2 (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Satellite-2), a demonstration microsatellite (45 kg) of IRD-UPM.
Sensor complement (Radiometer)
The idea with SIMBA is to achieve a high absolute accuracy by employing the same instrument for the very first time to measure irradiance from both the Sun and Earth. The CubeSat will turn from our planet to deep space – for calibration purposes – then to our parent star.
"We're using a broadband, wild field of view instrument, meaning we're measuring the total outgoing flux from the whole Earth," adds Dr. Nevens. "Simba is based on a cavity radiometer, which is basically an internal space on the other side of a very small hole, totally painted black. We are measuring how that cavity warms up.
"Imagine a house with central heating that you want to keep warm. On a summer day you don't have to do any heating, but on a winter's day you'll lose a lot of heat and need to actively warm it. So we'll be measuring how much extra energy we need to put in to maintain a fixed temperature.
"To get our baseline we'll begin the mission by looking down at Earth for a long time, to see what temperature it stabilizes at. Then we'll swivel out to deep space, just a few degrees from absolute zero, to learn the maximum level of heat we need to apply to keep it there. Then we will turn to the Sun in turn, measuring the amount of radiation coming in."
SIMBA measurement concept
The SIMBA Sun-Earth measurement concept is illustrated in Figure 4. In order to be able to measure the small imbalance which is believed to be driving climate change – of the order of 0.5 W/m2 – the difference between the incoming solar radiation – of the order of 340.5 W/m2 – and the outgoing terrestrial radiation – of the order of 340 W/m2 has to be measured. When the incoming and outgoing radiation are measured by separate instruments – as is the traditional approach – the small imbalance to be measured will be overwhelmed by the sum of the calibration errors of the separate sun and earth measurements. The new approach proposed by Simba is to measure with the same instrument the Sun and the Earth radiation, such that in principle the instrument calibration error is the same for the Sun and for the Earth measurement and cancels in the differential Sun-Earth measurement.
Figure 4:	SIMBA Sun-Earth measurement concept (image credit: RMI)
Even with this differential sun-earth measurement concept, several challenges remain in order to have an accurate intercalibration of the sun-earth measurements:
1) The Sun is almost a point source covering an angle of 0.5°, compared to the earth which covers a large field of view of 140° when viewed from horizon to horizon from a low earth orbit. Therefore Simba will need a wide field of view with a uniform angular sensitivity. As main SIMBA sensor we choose a wide field of view cavity radiometer, as has been used on the Nimbus-6, and -7 and ERBE satellites.
2) The Sun's surface is approximately a blackbody of 5800 K, emitting SW (ShortWave) radiation with wavelengths up to 4 µm. The Earth is approximately a blackbody of 300 K, emitting LW (LongWave) radiation above 4 µm. At night the Earth leaving radiation is only LW radiation, during the day it is composed of both SW reflected solar radiation and LW emitted thermal radiation. The SIMBA cavity needs to have a flat spectral response. As auxiliary sensors for the separation of Earth's SW and LW radiation, black and white flat spectral sensors are foreseen. The black sensor will absorb SW and LW radiation, the white sensor will mainly absorb LW radiation.
3) The Earth-leaving radiation is highly variable in space and in time due to the daily weather variation. Therefore the SIMBA MSF (Main Sensor Face), containing the cavity radiometer, will be pointed nearly continuously towards Earth, in order to maximize the Earth sampling. Only sporadically, e.g. once every three months, the MSF will be pointed towards the sun for a solar calibration. As the solar variation is well known (Figure 5), such a sporadic sampling of the sun is in principle sufficient. The SIMBA pointing modes are illustrated in Figure 6. During nadir pointing, the MSF is pointed towards Earth. During zenith pointing, the satellite is flipped over by 180°, and the MSF is seeing deep space for calibration at night, and sees the sun sweeping trough its field of view during the day, allowing a basic solar measurement. In a dedicated solar pointing mode, the angle of the MSF relative to the sun is kept fixed, for an improved solar calibration. As auxiliary sensors, the project foresees a second set of black and white sensors on the face opposite the MSF, and a wide angle visible camera on the MSF. The former allows solar and deep space calibration measurements during nadir pointing, the latter allows a high resolution characterization of the reflected solar radiation.
Figure 5: RMIB TSI composite measurements (red: daily measurements, green: 121 day running mean) and regression model (blue: 121 day running mean model) based on Mount Wilson magnetograms [image credit: RMIB (Royal Meteorological Institute Belgium)]
4) The diurnal cycle of the radiation, which is particularly strong in the tropics, is only sampled twice per day from LEO (Low Earth Orbit). The full sampling of the diurnal cycle combined with global measurements requires sampling with a constellation of satellites. While such a constellation would be expensive and slow to put in place with conventional satellite programs – e.g. the NASA ERBE program - it becomes feasible thanks to the relatively low cost and fast CubeSat approach. To measure the Earth radiation imbalance with a constellation of satellites is the long-term goal of the freshly started RMIB SIMBA program, to be compared with the measurement of the Solar Constant that was achieved in a 30 year program starting with the first RMIB space flight in 1983. The first SIMBA satellite to fly with QB50 in 2016 is intended as the technology demonstrator satellite of the SIMBA program.
Figure 6:	SIMBA pointing modes. MSF = Main Sensor Face. RAM = flight direction (image credit: RMIB)
1) "Simba CubeSat to swivel from Earth to Sun to help track climate change," ESA Enabling & Support, 15 June 2020, URL: http://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology
/Simba_CubeSat_to_swivel_from_Earth_to_Sun_to_help_track_climate_change
2)	Tjorven Delabie, "SIMBA Sun Earth Imbalance mission," KU Leuven, November 2015, URL: http://be-space.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SIMBA_Delabie.pdf
3) S. Dewitte, A. Chevalier, E. Janssen, N. Clerbaux, M. Meftah, A. Irbah,T. Delabie, O. Karatekin, "The Sun‐Earth Imbalance Radiometer for a Direct Measurement of the Net Heating of the Earth," Proceedings of the 4S (Small Satellites Systems and Services) Symposium, Port Petro, Majorca Island, Spain, May 26-30, 2014
4) Steven Dewitte, "Long term solar changes and their effect on Earth," STCE (Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence) Workshop, Brussels, Belgium, May 19, 2014, URL: http://www.spaceweather.eu/en/repository/download?
id=1_LongtermTSI_SDewitt-1400505853.&file=1_LongtermTSI_SDewitte.pdf
5)	Steven Dewitte, "Radiation Measurements at the RMIB - Past, Present and Future," September 27, 2013, URL: http://centenary.meteo.be/meteo/view/en/11939750-Dewitte.html
6)	"Vega return to flight proves new rideshare service," ESA Enabling & Support, 3 September 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation
/Vega/Vega_return_to_flight_proves_new_rideshare_service
7) "With Vega, Arianespace successfully performs the first European mission to launch multiple small satellites," Arianespace Press Release, 3 September 2020, URL: https://www.arianespace.com
/press-release/with-vega-arianespace-successfully-performs-the-
first-european-mission-to-launch-multiple-small-satellites/
8)	"Vega flight VV16," Wikipedia, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_flight_VV16
9)	Mike Safyan, "Planet's First Launch of 2020: 26 SuperDoves on a Vega," Planet, 13 February 2020, URL: https://www.planet.com/pulse/planets-first-launch-of-2020-26-superdoves-on-a-vega/
The information compiled and edited in this article was provided by Herbert J. Kramer from his documentation of: "Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors" (Springer Verlag) as well as many other sources after the publication of the 4th edition in 2002. - Comments and corrections to this article are always welcome for further updates (herb.kramer@gmx.net).
SAC-C
SAC-D
SAGE-IV
SAMPEX
Sapphire (Space Surveillance)
SAPPHIRE (Stanford AudioPhonic)
SAR-Lupe
Sateliot IoT
Satellite Reflectometry
Satellogic-Nusat
SATis5
SB-Sat
SCATSat-1
SciSat-1 / ACE
SDS-1
SDSS
SeaHawk-1
SEEDS-2
Sentinel Asia Constellation
SEOSat
Shi Jian
Shi Jian-9
Shi Jian-10
ShindaiSat
Shipping and Climate Change
Shuttle Flight STS-85
Sich-1M
Sich-2
SIR-A
SIR-B
SIR-C
skCUBE
Skylab
SLATS
SloshSat
SmallGEO
SMART Platform
SMART Nanosatellite
SMDC-ONE
SNAP-1
SNOE
SOHLA
Solar-A
Solar-B
Solar Orbiter Mission
SOMP
SORCE
Space Fence
Space for a Green Future
Space Tethers
Spacety
SPARCS
SPATIUM
SpinSat
Spitzer Space Telescope
SPLICE
SpooQy-1
SporeSat
SPOT-4
SPOT-6 and 7
SpriteSat
Spektr-RG/SRG
SRMSat
SRTM
SSBUV
SSETI
SSO-A
SSOT
SSR Debris
Starlab
Starlette
Starship of SpaceX
STEX
STP-1
STPSat-1
STP-S26
STP-27RD
STP2-FormoSat-7
STPSat6-LCRD
STRaND-1
STRV-1
STSat-1
StudSat-1
SumbandilaSat
SUNRISE II
SUNSAT
Sunstorm CubeSat
SVOM
SwampSat
SwissCube
SWFO-L1
Synlight

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin warned about discussing US college scam with their kids
Nate Raymond
Boston, United States / Thu, April 4, 2019 / 04:02 pm
Actor Felicity Huffman leaves the federal courthouse after facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme in Boston, Massachusetts, US, April 3, 2019. (REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl)
A federal judge on Wednesday warned parents charged in the largest college admissions scandal in U.S. history, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, to be careful discussing the case with their children, who are potential witnesses.
Prosecutors had wanted US Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley in Boston to go further and prohibit the 12 wealthy parents who appeared before her from talking about the case with their children without a lawyer present.
But while Kelley told the parents to consider seeking legal advice before discussing the case with their children to avoid exposing themselves to obstruction of justice charges, she said she did not think the prosecution's proposed conditions on parental communications could work.
"I just don't think that's realistic," Kelley said.
Desperate Housewives star Huffman and Full House actor Loughlin said little during the hearing other than to say that they understood the charges prosecutors brought against them. They are among 50 people, including several college athletics coaches, charged with participating in fraud and bribery schemes.
Prosecutors said the schemes involved cheating on college entrance exams and paying $25 million in bribes to help the wealthy parents' children gain admission at well-known universities including Yale and the University of Southern California (USC).
Some of the 33 parents charged in the scheme have begun plea negotiations with prosecutors. On Wednesday, packaged food entrepreneur Peter Sartorio became the first to reveal he plans to plead guilty. Two others said they were also in plea talks.
Read also: Celebrities lose work, students sue US colleges in admissions scandal
Prosecutors say the scheme was overseen by California college admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer, who has admitted to facilitating the cheating scam and bribing coaches to present the parents' children as fake athletic recruits.
Loughlin walked into the courthouse past a group fans yelling "Lori, we love you," and left smiling. Huffman exited the court holding her brother's hand.
Prosecutors allege that Loughlin and her husband, Los Angeles fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, agreed to pay $500,000 to have their two daughters named as recruits to USC's crew team, even though they did not row competitively.
Huffman, who is married to the actor William H. Macy, is accused of making a $15,000 contribution to Singer's foundation in exchange for having an associate of Singer's in 2017 secretly correct her daughter's answers on an SAT college entrance exam at a test center that prosecutors say Singer "controlled".
Huffman later made arrangements to engage in the scheme again on her younger daughter's behalf before deciding not to, prosecutors said.
Sartorio, who is expected to plead guilty later this month, similarly paid $15,000 to have his daughter's ACT exam corrected by Singer's associate, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors have not charged any applicants, and said that in some cases the parents involved took steps to try to prevent their children from realizing they were benefiting from fraud.
Topics : Felicity-HuffmanLori-Loughlincollege-admissionscandalunited-states