“Made by Vietnam” satellite flies into orbit
The MicroDragon satellite and six other Japanese satellites were launched into orbit by an Epsilon rocket at the Uchinoura Space Center.
At 7:25 a.m. (Hanoi time) on January 18, at the Uchinoura Space Center (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan), Mr. Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of JAXA, announced that the weather was good and ready for the satellite launch.
Experts from Vietnam and Japan gathered at the Missile Control Center, 3 km from the missile location, to observe. The missile left the launch pad at 7:50 a.m. (Hanoi time).
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The Epsilon 4 rocket carrying seven satellites flew into orbit. Screenshot |
Only 100 guests representing units with satellites, rockets and international guests were present at the launch site to observe the satellite launch using the Epsilon 4 rocket.
Epsilon rocket No. 4 carries 7 technology test satellites, including: JAXA's small satellite (200 kg); 3 micro satellites (60 kg) of Tohoku University, MicroDragon (50 kg) of Vietnam, ALE-1 (68 kg) of ALE company and 3 cubesat satellites (4 kg) and some other satellites weighing from 1 to 3 kg will fly into orbit.
The MicroDragon satellite (weighing 50 kg) designed and manufactured by engineers at the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC) will fly into orbit. Japanese experts have provided guidance and technical support for 36 Vietnamese engineers to complete this task.
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Epsilon is a Japanese solid-fuel rocket carrying seven experimental technology satellites into orbit. Photo:JAXA |
The main purpose of the MicroDragon satellite is as a tool for practical training in the experimental manufacture of micro-satellites (small satellites).
MicroDragon is also tasked with assessing water quality, locating aquatic resources, and monitoring phenomena occurring in coastal waters.
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The rocket lifted off at 7:50 a.m. Screenshot. |
To do kIn its main mission, the MicroDragon satellite uses a system of two multispectral cameras with a liquid crystal filter (LCTF) that can capture images in two spectral bands, visible light (wavelength from 412 nm to 740 nm) and near-infrared (wavelength from 730 nm to 1026 nm), the best ground resolution image is 78 m, the image size is about 36×48 km when the satellite operates in an orbit of 511 km.
Images from the MicroDragon satellite will be the basis for exchanging satellite data with the global micro community to enhance the application of space technology in activities such as disaster prevention and climate change.
