Nigeria EduSat-1
Nigeria's first university-built satellite, part of the Birds-1 fleet.
Nigeria EduSat-1, a nanosatellite, was Nigeria’s first university-built satellite, developed by the Federal University of Technology Akure with the Japanese Birds-1 program. It reached the International Space Station via SpaceX CRS-11 and was deployed from the Kibō module. The satellite ceased orbit on 13 May 2019, nearly two years after launch.
Quick Facts
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration; Earth observation
- Operator
- Federal University of Technology Akure
- Spacecraft type
- 1U CubeSat
- Launch mass
- 1 kg / 2.2 lb
- Dimensions
- 10 × 10 × 10 cm / 3.94 in
- Power
- watts
- Launched
- 3 June 2017, 21:07:38 UTC
- Launch rocket
- Falcon 9 FT, CRS-11
Facts from the source article.
Background
Japan supports non-spacefacing countries through the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project (Birds). The Birds-1 program included five countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, Japan, Mongolia, and Nigeria. Nigeria EduSat-1 is the first satellite built by a Nigerian university. The project was supported by Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) and partnered with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Abuja. All five satellites were identical in design. Nigeria had previously ordered satellites such as NigeriaSat-1 and NigComSat-1, but none were built domestically.
Development
The satellite was designed, built, and owned by FUTA, in conjunction with NASRDA and Kyushu Institute of Technology. It carried 0.3-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras and, with the rest of the fleet, imaged Nigeria. As an outreach project, it transmitted songs and poems receivable by amateur radio operators to generate Nigerian interest in science. The constellation also measured atmospheric density at 400 km altitude. Manufacturing and launch cost about US$500,000.
Mission
Originally planned for 1 June 2017, launch was postponed due to poor weather. SpaceX launched CRS-11 on 3 June 2017 from LC-39A, the 100th launch from that pad and the first reuse of a Dragon capsule. The satellite orbited at 400 km altitude, 51.64° inclination, with an orbital period of 92.57 minutes and velocity of 7.67 km/s. It communicated with seven ground stations: one in each Birds-1 country plus Thailand and Taiwan. Its primary objective was technology demonstration and familiarizing Nigerian students with satellite techniques. Nigeria EduSat-1 decayed on 13 May 2019, the second-to-last Birds-1 satellite to do so.
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