Russian developer of small satellite platforms and systems SPUTNIX Company has launched the country’s first private Earth remote sensing satellite, TabletSat-Aurora, on-board ISC Kosmotras’ RS-20 rocket (Dnepr).
The satellite launched as part of a cluster of small spacecraft lifted off onboard the Dnepr on 20 June.
SPUTNIX’s new satellite is expected to receive data from the microsatellite sent to a SCANEX ground network UniScan. Data will be used in commercial, scientific, educational and environmental projects.
Speaking about the development, ISC Kosmotras CEO Alexander Serkin said: "We have an opportunity to participate in the implementation of a private space project in Russia. And we are certainly proud to be a part of this event."
After TabletSat-Aurora’s ascent to orbit, subsystems developed by the company will be tested, with first signal from the spacecraft already received, SPUTNIX said.
TabletSat-Aurora weighs 26kg, with minimum designed life expectancy of one year. It is equipped with a high-accuracy tri-axial orientation and stabilisation system, as well as an optical camera for Earth imaging from space, with resolution of 15m per pixel.
SPUTNIX CTO Stanislav Karpenko said: "The company consider TabletSat-Aurora as a universal platform for placement of scientific and commercial applications payloads."
The satellite platform and majority of systems and equipment were developed by SPUTNIX; financial support was provided by the Skolkovo and ISC Kosmotras.
In 2012, SPUTNIX, a daughter firm of the SCANEX, received a grant from the Skolkovo space cluster. The company took eight months to develop and prepare a microsatellite for the launch.
