A Russian Soyuz-U rocket was launched from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday 16-04-2014. In what is expected to the last “non Progress” launch of this variant of Soyuz, an Egyptian spacecraft – known as EgyptSat-2 – enjoyed a ride uphill on the Russian workhorse. Launch occurred on schedule at 16:20 UTC.
The EgyptSat-2 satellite – which has seen its launch delayed several times – was built by RKK Energia and is destined for an operational orbit of 435 x 435 miles with a 51.6 degrees declination to the equator.The spacecraft follows on from the launch of EgyptSat-1, which was launched by a Dnepr rocket – a converted RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missile – in 2007. However, that satellite saw its life end in 2010, due to a failure of its S-Band communication system.
Weighing in at 1,050 kg, the Earth Observation satellite is being launched on behalf of Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences.The bird is equipped with three deployable, fixed solar arrays and X-band communications. It is expected to have an operational lifetime of 11 years, covering Egypt’s mapping, environmental monitoring and disaster management requirements.
No comments:
Post a Comment