PoSAT-1: 30 years ago, the satellite was launched that put Portugal into space – Science

a September 25, 1993around 2:45 a.m., Portugal’s space ambitions continued on board the 59th flight of the Ariane 4 rocketIt was launched from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. Twenty minutes and 35 seconds after take-off, At an altitude of more than 800 km, PoSAT-1 successfully separated from the “Traveller” to occupy the planned orbit above ground. The date is set today at a conference organized by the Portuguese space agency, Portugal Space.

Even Fernando Carvalho Rodríguez, considered the father of the Portuguese satellite, referred to the historic launch as a “very tense and focused mission”, haunted by doubts. Some fear of failure, mainly due to the financial cost.

At current values, The cost of the project is about five million euroswith part financed by the then specific program for the development of Portuguese industry, but also by the companies that formed the PoSAT-1 consortium: INETI, EFACEC, Alcatel, Marconi, OGMA, UBI and CEDINTEC.

Click on the images for more details about PoSAT-1

On launch night, the physicist will rest only when… Received a fax ensuring that the PoSAT-1 is fully operationalAfter the satellite command center in Al-Fouver “received the signal and began ‘talking’ to the satellite.” Afterward, he was grateful that he had brought together “a lot of people, a lot of hardware, and a lot of software” for this project.

A half-meter metal box and some ambition

PoSAT-1 was used for telecommunications in several countries, namely by the Portuguese Army, in missions in Bosnia, and was also an important advance in what has now become one of the areas of Portuguese space strategy: Earth observation.

The first Portuguese satellite It was an aluminum box measuring 35cm wide and 58cm long and weighing about 50kg.. From a scientific point of view, It was equipped to collect information That would allow for characterization Terrestrial radiation belts,distribution recognition Cosmic radiation levels On the surface of the Earth and studying it Solar wind.

Integrafa 10 drawers contain electronic boards, batteries, a remote detection unit, and sensors Height and stability. The various systems on board are powered by solar energy, thanks to the energy collected by solar panels installed on the equipment.

the satellite It interacted with the only control station existing at that time in the country, located in the Satellite Operations Control Center, formerly owned by Marconi, operates in the Sintra area. These communications were possible in part of the trips made around the Earth every day. It moved at an average speed of 7.3 kilometers per second, and communications with our planet usually took 12 minutes.

POSAT-1 It stopped transmitting the signal in 2006, after a 13-year period of operationThat’s about double the initially estimated age, which was five to eight years. The metal “orb” weighs about 50 kilograms and is half a meter high He is currently on a silent journey in Earth orbit, and is expected to die physically in 2043.

Although it is the “flagbearer” of Portugal’s entry into the group of countries that have a space program, it is To this day, 30 years later, PoSAT-1 remains the only satellite launched by Portugal. but This scenario should change soonwith several projects under development.

ISTSat-1 is one of them. Hey The first satellite was built by the Higher Technical Institute and was completely completed, after undergoing rigorous technical tests In a simulated space environment.

Its mission is to display an aircraft detection system using ADS-B signals (Automated Observation – Broadcast), the target is a cube satellite with an edge of 10 cm Follow the inaugural flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket.

a GiusaAnother company that promised to put Portugal on the “space map”, having announced… Launching 11 new high-resolution and high-resolution satellites by 2025.

You Satellites Erosfrom Edisoft, He promotesfrom Spinworks and Newsatfrom the stratosphere, along with VDES constellationsfrom Losospace, SRfrom id and Magalfrom Ayvasik, They are also ongoing projects.