PicoDragon
PicoDragon is a small satellite that followed the 1U type of CubeSat program built by Vietnam National Satellite Center belong to VAST and operated in space for 3 months.[1]
.jpg.webp) cubesat launch | |
| Mission type | Technology Reconnaissance |
|---|---|
| Operator | Vietnam National Satellite Center |
| COSPAR ID | 1998-067DB |
| SATCAT no. | 39413 |
| Website | Website of VNSC about Pico Dragon |
| Mission duration | Success and operation in 3 month in the space |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 1U Cubesat |
| Manufacturer | VNSC |
| Launch mass | 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2:48 6/8/2013 UTC+7 |
| Rocket | Kounotori |
| Launch site | Tanegashima |
| Deployed from | ISS |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
It was the first product to be built in Vietnam in the space technology field. The target for this project is to co-operate in space technology development between Vietnam and Japan. It is also the first Vietnamese satellite to launch successfully to space. Before, there had been 4 satellites launched including: VNREDSat 1A, F-1, Vinasat-1 and Vinasat-2 but F-1 which failed when launching. Vinasat-1, Vinasat-2, VNREDSat 1A were all built by foreign partners or companies.
Specifications
- Size: 10 by 10 by 11.35 centimetres (3.94 in × 3.94 in × 4.47 in)[2]
- Weight: 0.983 kilograms (2.17 lb)
- Time operating: About 3 months
- Orbit
- High: 410 kilometres (250 mi)
- Inclination: 51.6 degrees
- Senses devices:
- CMOS camera (640 × 480 dpi) to take picture about Earth
- Contact by wireless link
- Broadcast station frequency about 437.250 MHz
- Telemetry downlink 1k2 bit/s AFSK 800 mW AX.25 about 437.365 MHz
- Very high frequency uplink use for control.
Journey
At 2:48 AM (Vietnamese time zone) 4 August 2013, PicoDragon was successfully launched to the ISS via the transport spacecraft HTV-4. PicoDragon was followed by ArduSat-1, ArduSat-X, TechEdSat-3 of United States and Kirobo robot of Japan were launched at Tanegashima by Kounotori of Japan.[3] Before its placement into orbit from the ISS, it was held back for additional checks.
PicoDragon was a 1U CubeSat project designed for low resolution Earth imagery and to test on-board systems.[4]
On 19 November 2013 (Vietnamese time zone), PicoDragon was launched into orbit by the ISS.[5] 4 hours later, some first signals were successfully received by the ground station in Japan. After that, the ground station of VNSC also received signals from PicoDragon. After more than 3 months in the orbit, PicoDragon completed the mission and burned when it entered the atmosphere.[6]
Future
Follow doctor Pham Anh Tuan, director of Vietnam National Satellite Center, after PicoDragon, Vietnam will build more satellites (10 kilograms (22 lb) in 2015 and 50 kilograms (110 lb) in 2017) and in 2020 will launch a 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) satellite to observing the Earth from space.
References
- "Pico Dragon". eoportal.org. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- "Profile of the PicoDragon satellite". Vietnam National Space Center. October 11, 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- "HTV4 (KOUNOTORI 4) Mission Press Kit" (PDF). JAXA. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- Krebs, Gunter D. "PicoDragon"". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- "List of deployed CubeSats using J-SSOD". JAXA. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- "PicoDragon completed its mission (Vietnamese)". VTC News. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2023.