Singapore launches its first nano-satellite

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-launches-its-first-nano-satellite

Orbiting in space about 650km above Earth now are two new Singapore satellites, built and designed by a group of engineering students and researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

VELOX-I, Singapore’s first nano-satellite, and VELOX-PIII, a pico-satellite the size of an iPhone, were launched into space on Monday, on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

They join two other NTU satellites currently operating in space.

In two to three months, VELOX-I will deploy the attached VELOX-PIII. They will be able to communicate with each other autonomously for a year and work in tandem. Weighing 4.28kg, the pair will travel at speeds of up to 7.5km per second and orbit the earth 15 times daily.

To control and monitor its growing fleet of satellites, NTU has built a new Mission Control Centre, which has advanced satellite communication and computer systems.

“The VELOX-I is unique as it has an extensible mechanism to capture high-res images, designed to withstand radiation and can perform inter-satellite communication with VELOX-PIII,” said Professor Freddy Boey, NTU’s provost.

“This is important to us as the data collected will be used to improve the aerospace and engineering industry. These new satellites will be used for research and testing purposes to develop future satellites, and help solve existing problems such as the haze.”