ESTCube-1 systems went up well

Photo: SCANPIX

The systems of ESTCube-1, the first ever satellite of Estonia, started functioning well and the satellite's first seven days in space have been more successful than expected, the team of the satellite said.

The team of ESTCube-1 have started two-way communication with the satellite and the satellite is following orders without hitches. An update of the software on board the satellite has been successfully completed. Radio amateurs from all continents are sending the ESTCube-1 team signals of ESTCube-1 beacons they have picked up.

Besides, ESTCube-1 is now officially listed as an object orbiting the Earth by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) under 2013-021C.

"The mission of the first Estonian satellite has started more successfully than expected, as all the tested systems are working excellently and responding to the commands received from mission control. Stable two-way communication has been established," said ESTCube-1 team member Mihkel Pajusalu, PhD student at the University of Tartu.

He said the signal from the radio beacon of ESTCube-1 has been received and forwarded to Tartu by radio amateurs from all continents except Antarctica.

"The best known institution that observes objects moving in space, the North American aerospace defense command NORAD, started immediately to follow ESTCube-1 with a radar and starting May 8 it continuously publishes actual parameters of the orbit of ESTCube-1 in its database," said the head of the ESTCube-1 ground station, PhD student at the University of Tartu Tonis Eenmae.

ESTCube-1 is moving in a polar orbit at a speed of 7.5 kilometers per second or 27,095 kilometers per hour, being probably the fastest moving object ever built in Estonia.

The coordinator of the project, Mart Noorma, said the satellite's average altitude from the surface of the Earth was 666 kilometers and it took the satellite 98 minutes to complete a circle in Earth's orbit. It circles the Earth slightly under 15 times per 24 hours and has circled the planet 88 times by now. By the projected end of its lifespan in 2036 the satellite is estimated to have passed approximately 5.5 billion kilometers, Noorma said.

The principal communication channel of ESTCube-1 switched on 48 hours after the takeoff of the rocket that took the satellite to the orbit. The first command was sent to the satellite at 10 a.m. on the morning of May 9 and two-way communication has been enabled since then. The satellite has reported that its electrical system, onboard computer, communications system and command system are in order. The satellite's camera has made the first test photo. Update of the satellite's software by radio has been tested successfully and the software of the electrical alarm system has been successfully replaced with a new version.