Vietnam’s NanoDragon satellite successfully launched into orbit
VOV.VN - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched a payload of satellites, including Vietnam’s NanoDragon, into outer space on November 9 morning.
The satellites were deployed from Epsilon solid-fuel rocket that blasted off in midair from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture at 07.55am (local time).
According to Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, director of the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC), NanoDragon is scheduled to be released from the rocket and traverse over Vietnam’s sky at 09.30am.
The successful launch marked “an important step forward for Vietnam’s space industry,” said Vu Hong Nam, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan.
3U Cubesat NanoDragon weighing 3.8kg was developed by the Vietnam National Space Center under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The development of the NanoDragon satellite is part of VNSC's "made in Vietnam" small satellite development roadmap.
The satellite is expected to operate in a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 560 km. This satellite is designed to integrate an automatic identification system (AIS) used for tracking and monitoring vessels at sea.
It will also make use of an optical imaging device in order to verify the quality of the satellite posture controller while operating in orbit.
NanoDragon is designed to operate in orbit for a minimum of 6 months, but according to VNSC experts it can operate for up to two years.