A small Peruvian research satellite made by the Lima-based National University of Engineering (UNI) was deployed on Monday into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS), marking the starting of earth-observation era for the Andean nation.
The spacecraft is a one-unit CubeSat called "Chaski I", named after the Inca messengers, which was designed and built by a team of scientists of the above public university. It is intended to take pictures of the Earth and transmit them to the ground station.
The 4-inch box has a launch mass of about 1 Kilograms and being 10x10x10 cm3 in size featuring body mounted solar panels and two deployable solar arrays of high eficiency with three panels each for thermal control mechanisms.
Likewise, it includes its own attitude control and determination system, communication in the amateur radio band mechanisms, as well as power and an embedded control and information management system for all the components of the satellite.
The "Chasqui I" is an unprecedented effort to provide Peru access to space for the first time and gives the government the opportunity to open new application areas specific to the country's geographical and social reality.
The educational and technological benefits of the project can be emphasized in the field training of engineers and scientists coupled with the implementation of a network which will allow to generate new low-cost applications in the field of telecommunications, Earth observation and exploration of natural resources, all of great importance to Peru's development.
NASA reported the Peruvian nanosat deployment took place August 18 from Space LaunchComplex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, United States.
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Published: 8/18/2014