# Space Weather Effects from Observations by Moscow University Cubesat Constellation
## 2 Multi Satellite Experiment for Real Time Radiation Monitoring in the Near-Earth Space
### The First Stage of Moscow University Multi-Satellite Project Realization  
The first stage of the Moscow University multi-satellite project realization began to be implemented on 5 July 2019 after a successful launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome of three Russian nanosatellites of the CubeSat 3U type (SOCRAT, AmurSat, and VDNH-80). In particular, scintillation phoswich detectors DeCoR were installed on two satellites (AmurSat, VDNH-80). Moreover, CubeSats of 6U format (DEKART, Norbi) and CubeSats of 1.5 U format (Yarila-2) were launched as an associated payload from the cosmodrome Plesets on 28 September 2020. The Norbi satellite was elaborated by Novosibirsk State University, and the CubeSat Yarila-2 was elaborated by Bauman Moscow State Technical University. These three CubeSats are equipped with the same type of DeCoR instruments for monitoring cosmic radiation. The delay between the reception of information from satellites by the ground telemetry receiving station (located in Novosibirsk for Norby and in Kaluga for the rest of the satellites) and the appearance of experimental data at the SINP data center is about 0.5-1 day.  
All launched satellites operate in polar solar-synchronous orbits with an altitude of about 550 km and an inclination of about 98\({}^{\circ}\). This provides favorable conditions for monitoring space radiation in various areas of near-Earth space, including zones of captured radiation, areas of precipitation, polar caps, and near-equatorial regions. Thus, for the first time, a unique multi-satellite constellation has been implemented, which makes it possible to carry out simultaneous measurements of particle and gamma quantum fluxes using identical instruments at different points in near-Earth space. Such measurements provide unique information about the dynamics of sub-relativistic electron fluxes in near-Earth space. In particular, information about the nature of short-term (with characteristic times of the order of 1 ms) electron flux variations, including those caused by precipitating and quasi-trapped electrons, can be obtained. In addition to the applied aspects related to the problem of space weather monitoring, such measurements will provide important data necessary for understanding the mechanisms of acceleration and loss of trapped and quasi-trapped electrons.  
The results of the flight operation of the CubeSat nanosatellite constellation showed that it is a tool that allows getting a current picture and a predictive estimation of radiation conditions in a large area of near-Earth space. The study of fast variations of electron fluxes in the areas of precipitation and the slot between radiation belts, as well as the study of the dynamics of particle fluxes and gamma rays at low orbits with dependence on geomagnetic conditions, are made. An important factor that allows more efficient scientific research is the installation of instruments on two satellites, sequentially flying through the same region of near-Earth space.  
Of course, observations with a small number of nanosatellites cannot substitute the results from the other major missions; however, they can add and perhaps provide more data, which may be not necessarily accurate, but qualitative and certainly at drastically less cost. In this article, we present an example of space weather research performed with minimal resources and show how the small CubeSat constellation can detect space weather events of a certain type, such as flux variations of sub-relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt during geomagnetic disturbances, the appearance of intense solar proton and electron fluxes in the polar caps after solar flares, as well as fluxes of energetic electrons in the geomagnetic equator regions at small altitudes below the radiation belts.