PoSAT-1
Encyclopedia
PoSAT-1, the first Portuguese
satellite
, was launched into orbit
on September 26, 1993, on the 59th flight of the Ariane 4
rocket. The launch took place in the Kourou Space Centre, French Guiana
. About 20 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 807 km, PoSAT-1 separated itself from the rocket.
The PoSAT-1 weighs about 50 kg and belongs to the class of micro-satellites, which are between 10 and 100 kg. The entire project was developed by a consortium of universities and companies in Portugal
and was built at the University of Surrey
, UK. The total cost was around €5 Million, about €3 Million paid by the Portuguese Government and €2 Million by the Portuguese companies involved (Po-SAT consortium: INETI, EFACEC, ALCATEL, MARCONI, OGMA, IST, UBI e CEDINTEC). The responsible for the project was Fernando Carvalho Rodrigues, known as the father of the first Portuguese satellite.
, KitSat-B from South Korea
, HealthSat (an international medical satellite) and Stella
and SPOT-3 from France, the latter one a super satellite for photography recognition.
, 58 centimeters long, 35 centimeters wide, 35 centimeters depth and weighs 50 kilograms.
Over a first drawer that contains the batteries and the remote detection
module are stacked 10 other drawers full of electronic cards.
At the top of the satellite there are sensors for attitude and the stabilization mast, essential tools for PoSAT-1 to maintain correct orbit.
Four solar panels are mounted on the lateral sides of the structure of the satellite, forming a parallelepiped, which are the source of energy
for all on-board systems. Each panel contains 1,344 cells of GaAs.
PoSAT-1 stopped transmitting information to Earth in 2006.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
, was launched into orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
on September 26, 1993, on the 59th flight of the Ariane 4
Ariane 4
Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 4 was justly known as the ‘workhorse’ of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the last, on 15 February 2003, it...
rocket. The launch took place in the Kourou Space Centre, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. About 20 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 807 km, PoSAT-1 separated itself from the rocket.
The PoSAT-1 weighs about 50 kg and belongs to the class of micro-satellites, which are between 10 and 100 kg. The entire project was developed by a consortium of universities and companies in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and was built at the University of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, UK. The total cost was around €5 Million, about €3 Million paid by the Portuguese Government and €2 Million by the Portuguese companies involved (Po-SAT consortium: INETI, EFACEC, ALCATEL, MARCONI, OGMA, IST, UBI e CEDINTEC). The responsible for the project was Fernando Carvalho Rodrigues, known as the father of the first Portuguese satellite.
The Mission
The mission was called Flight 59, which launched several satellites: PoSAT-1 from Portugal, EyeSat and ItamSat from ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, KitSat-B from South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, HealthSat (an international medical satellite) and Stella
Stella
-People:*Stella , a feminine given name** Stella McCartney, English fashion designer** Stella , Singaporean-Taiwanese singer** Stella Maessen, Dutch singer, sometimes going under the singular name of Stella-Fictional characters:...
and SPOT-3 from France, the latter one a super satellite for photography recognition.
The Satellite
The PoSAT-1 is a box of aluminum, in the form of a parallelepipedParallelepiped
In geometry, a parallelepiped is a three-dimensional figure formed by six parallelograms. By analogy, it relates to a parallelogram just as a cube relates to a square. In Euclidean geometry, its definition encompasses all four concepts...
, 58 centimeters long, 35 centimeters wide, 35 centimeters depth and weighs 50 kilograms.
Over a first drawer that contains the batteries and the remote detection
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
module are stacked 10 other drawers full of electronic cards.
At the top of the satellite there are sensors for attitude and the stabilization mast, essential tools for PoSAT-1 to maintain correct orbit.
Four solar panels are mounted on the lateral sides of the structure of the satellite, forming a parallelepiped, which are the source of energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
for all on-board systems. Each panel contains 1,344 cells of GaAs.
Numbers
- Speed: 7.3 km per second.
- Orbit: 822 x 800 km, inclination of 98.6 °, Sun synchronous, lasts 101 minutes, revolves around the Earth around 14 times per day.
Death
The physical death of the PoSAT-1 is expected to be 2043.PoSAT-1 stopped transmitting information to Earth in 2006.