RASAT

Spacecraft n°:

Turkey spacecraft n°: 8

Launch data: Designation  37794 / 11044D Launch date  17 Aug 2011 - 07:12 UT Launch site  Yasniy (Dombarovsky Missile Base) Launch vehicle  Dnepr-1 Mission  Government: Earth Observation, imaging Sun-Synchronous LEO Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  667 x 699 km Eccentricity  2.27E-03 Inclination  98.2 deg Period  98.4 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufactor  Space Technologies Research Institute Platform   Operator  TUBITAK-UZAY Mass at launch  95 kg (113 kg?) Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)   Equipment  7.5 m panchromatic band and 15 m multispectral imager Solar array  Solar cells, batteries Stabilization   Propulsion   DC power   Design lifetime  3 yrs - Still active

Mission details:

• The fifth payload was Rasat, a 95 kg Turkish Earth observation satellite for TUBITAK UZAY, with a Korean-built imager. TUBITAK is the Turkish science research council and UZAY is its Space Technology Research Insitute in Ankara, formerly called BILTEN - its earlier satellite, built by Surrey, was BILSAT-1 launched in 2003.
• RASAT is the first remote sensing satellite that is being developed and manufactured in Turkey by Turkish engineers. The predecessor mission was BILSAT 1, which was launched in 2003 and was operational until August 2006 when it battery failed.
• Primary objectives are to advance Turkish space technology and know-how and observe natural and manmade disasters, monitor coastline changes and pollution, detect illegal settlements and urban land changes, and update existing maps.