Ukrainian Sich-2-30 satellite begins transmitting data from orbit
A recently launched Ukrainian satellite named Sich-2-30 has begun transmitting data from orbit, 525 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, an MP from the ruling Ukrainian Servant of the People party, Dmytro Kysylevskyi, posted on Facebook.
“The Ukrainian Sich-2-30 satellite, developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro, transmitted its first data here from a height of 525 kilometers,” Kyselevskyi said, referring to the satellite’s launch on the SpaceX owned Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 13.
“The initial communication session is completed, and any concern to the Falcon 9 rocket launch and the satellite deployment in orbit is over.”
This was the first launch of a Ukrainian spacecraft since 2011.
According to Kyselevskyi, the satellite will now conduct stabilization maneuvers for the next two months, the operation of its solar batteries will be tested, and the first test image will be received on the ninth day. After that, the satellite will begin continuous data broadcasting.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced via social media that the National Space Facilities Control and Test Center near the western Ukrainian town of Dunaivtsi had successfully conducted its first communication session with the satellite, and reported that its on-board systems are functioning properly.
Zelensky emphasized that the Ukrainian satellite will be integrated into Copernicus – the European Union's Earth observation program.
The digital images provided by the satellite can be used in agriculture, forestry, mapping, water resources control, emergency and disaster monitoring, as well as in security and defense "when illegal actions are detected," the Office of the President of Ukraine stated.
The satellite will also monitor the Earth's ionosphere and measure cosmic radiation.
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