Tigrisat (Tigris)

Spacecraft nº:

Italy, Iraq spacecraft nº: 35

Launch data: Designation  40043 / 14033AK Launch date  19 June 2014 - 19:11 UT Launch site  Dombarovsky, LC-370/13 Launch vehicle  Dnepr Mission  Earth Observation Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  616 x 704 km Eccentricity   Inclination   98.0° Period  97.8 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Tigrisat is an Iraqi 3U CubeSat built by Iraqi students at the La Sapienza University of Rome with a mission to detect dust storms over Iraq. The satellite was funded by the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology. (The Iraqi name for the satellite in Arabic is 'Tigris', the name used by the Italians is 'Tigrisat'.)
• The 3U cubesat features a RGB camera with a new scripted algorithm for dust detection. It has a deployable VHF/UHF antenna for telemetry telecommand and beacon and a S-Band antenna. Embedded magnetic coils inside solar panels provide attitude control to enable nadir pointing. Tigrisat transmits images to two ground stations, one located in Rome and another in Baghdad.

Mission details:

• On Jun 19, 2014 launch of a Dnepr rocket from the Yasniy missile base put a record 38 payloads in sun-synchronous orbits ranging from 550 to 610 km at perigee and 620 to 715 km at apogee.
• Tigrisat was deployed from the Italian UniSat 6.
• Feb. 2015: Italy has registered the TigriSat satellite with the UN, noting that it is owned by the Univ. Roma La Sapienza, despite the fact that earlier Iraqi media reports suggested that the satellite was Iraqi-funded and -owned. The satellite was built by Iraqi students studying at the Italian university.

External links:

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