The Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic has announced that it will support the Czech space mission QUVIK. The selection of the project was decided by the committee that manages the Framework Project to implement the support that the European Space Agency (ESA) will provide to space activities from the Czech Republic. QUVIK is thus progressing to the implementation phase.
The project is led by the Czech Aerospace Research Centre, a key role in the development of a
telescope designed for ultraviolet observation is played by TOPTEC. The TOPTEC team must ensure
perfect image performance while maintaining a compact and lightweight design. TOPTEC's task will be
the development and implementation of the entire optical payload, i.e. a telescope with a camera
system and a thermal control system. The telescope will have an aperture of 330 mm and is thus far
the largest space telescope implemented by TOPTEC and in the history of the Czech Republic.
The aim of the QUVIK (Quick Ultra-Violet Kilonovae Serveyor) satellite project is to prepare
the first Czech space telescope to monitor collisions of neutron stars, eventually neutron stars
and black holes. It will also be possible to observe very hot stars, supernovae, star clusters and
radiation from galaxy nuclei produced when a star is torn apart by a super massive black hole. The
telescope will be carried into space in 2028.
23 Sep 2023
