ESTCube-1

Estonian nanosatellite

ESTCube-1 was the first satellite from Estonia. It was made as part of the Estonian Student Satellite Program, and was launched on 7 May 2013 on a Vega rocket. The satellite is a project in which university and high-school students took part. The CubeSat standard for nanosatellites was followed while it was built, resulting in a 10x10x11.35 cm cube, with a volume of 1 liter and a mass of 1.048 kg.

ESTCube-1
ESTCube-1 illustration
Mission typeTechnology
OperatorUniversity of Tartu
COSPAR ID2013-021C
SATCAT no.39161
Websitehttp://www.estcube.eu/en/home
Mission duration1 year, 9 months and 10 days (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass1.048 kilograms (2.31 lb)
Dry mass1.048 kilograms (2.31 lb)
Power3.6W [1]
Start of mission
Launch date7 May 2013, 02:06:31 (2013-05-07UTC02:06:31Z) UTC
RocketVega flight VV02
Launch siteKourou ELA-1
ContractorESA
End of mission
Deactivated17 Feb 2015, 10:27:00 (2015-02-17UTC10:27Z) UTC[2]
Last contact19 May 2015[1]
Decay date2038*estimated
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee665 km
Apogee665 km
Inclination98.129 degrees
Period98.03 minutes
 

ESTCube-1 was put into orbit by Arianespace, using a Vega rocket which took off from ELA-1 at Kourou at 02:06:31 UTC on 7 May 2013 at a height of 670 kilometres.

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 Vladislav-Veniamin Pustõnski, ESTCube-1 ceased working after 2 years in orbit Archived 2018-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, Estonian Space Office (accessed 8 June 2016)
  2. "ESTCube-1's 651-day career: 53 dissertations and a marriage proposal". 17 Feb 2015.