BHUTAN-1
First Bhutanese satellite, deployed from the ISS in 2018.
BHUTAN-1 was the first Bhutanese nanosatellite launched into space, built as part of the Kyushu Institute of Technology's Birds-2 program. It was deployed from the Kibō module of the International Space Station on 10 August 2018, having arrived aboard the SpaceX CRS-15 mission. The satellite carried cameras to image Earth.
Quick Facts
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Operator
- Kyushu Institute of Technology
- Spacecraft type
- 1U CubeSat
- Launch mass
- 1.11 kg / 2.45 lb
- Dimensions
- 10 × 10 × 11.35 cm / 4.47 in
- Launched
- 29 June 2018, 09:42 UTC
- Launch rocket
- Falcon 9 Full Thrust
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral, SLC-40
Facts from the source article.
Background
The Kyushu Institute of Technology runs the Joint Global Multi-Nations Birds Satellite project to help non-spacefaring countries build their first satellite. Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay mentioned plans for a space agency in 2016, following the king's idea for a satellite. Birds-2 developed three satellites: BHUTAN-1, UiTMSAT-1, and Maya-1, designed by Bhutanese graduate students at Kyutech.
Development
The Birds-2 project began in November 2016. BHUTAN-1 was a 1U CubeSat measuring 10 × 10 × 11.35 cm and weighing 1.11 kg, designed by four Bhutanese engineers as part of their master's degree. Designing and testing started by March 2017; the first engineering model was built in June 2017, the second by October 2017, and then the flight module was developed.
Mission
BHUTAN-1 launched on 29 June 2018 aboard a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket from Cape Canaveral as part of SpaceX CRS-15, along with Maya-1 and UiTMSAT-1. It was deployed from the ISS's Kibō module in August 2018, becoming Bhutan's first satellite. Operating at about 400 km altitude, it passed over Bhutan four to five times daily for three to four minutes. Its designed lifespan was six to nine months, potentially up to two years. Two cameras imaged Bhutan's glaciers, lakes, and forests; it also provided basic communications and studied radiation effects. The satellite was jointly controlled by Bhutan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and tracked from a ground station operated by Bhutan's Information and Communications Ministry.
More in Satellites Deployed from the International Space Station
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced