BeeSat-1 or Berlin Experimental and Educational Satellite 1, is a German

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

operated by the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. The spacecraft is a single unit CubeSat, which was designed to test systems intended for use on future spacecraft, including a new design of

reaction wheel A reaction wheel (RW) is used primarily by spacecraft for three-axis attitude control, and does not require rockets or external applicators of torque. They provide a high pointing accuracy, and are particularly useful when the spacecraft must be ...

. It has also been used for

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

, and is equipped with a small camera. BeeSat-1 was launched by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, serial number C14, flying in the Core Alone, or PSLV-CA, configuration. The launch took place from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at 06:21 UTC on 23 September 2009. BeeSat-1 was a secondary payload aboard the rocket, which deployed the

Oceansat-2 Oceansat-2 is the second Indian satellite built primarily for ocean applications. It was a part of the Indian Remote Sensing Programme satellite series. Oceansat-2 is an Indian satellite designed to provide service continuity for operational us ...

satellite. Five other secondary payloads were flown aboard the rocket; SwissCube-1,

UWE-2 UWE-2 (University Würzburg's Experimental satellite 2) was a follow-on picosatellite technology demonstration project within the CubeSat family standard, developed and built by students of the University of Würzburg, Germany. The overall objec ...

, ITU-pSat1, Rubin 9.1 and

Rubin 9.2 Rubin 9.2 is a German experimental satellite payload launched on 23 September 2009 in 06:21 aboard PSLV-CA rocket at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. Rubin 9.2 shares the host satellite Rubin-9 with another payload, Rubin 9.1. The Rubin-9 ...

. BeeSat-1 is operating in a sun synchronous orbit with an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of , a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of and 98.4 degrees of

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a Plane of reference, reference plane and the orbital plane or Axis of rotation, axis of direction of the orbiting object ...

to the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

. It has an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 99.16 minutes. BeeSat-1 was designed to operate for at least twelve months, and it is still operational.

References

Spacecraft launched in 2009 CubeSats Student satellites Satellites of Germany {{Germany-spacecraft-stub

See also

References