UPM-Sat is a series of Spanish microsatellites developed by the

Technical University of Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...

(UPM), in collaboration with the

Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial The Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» (INTA, ) is an List of agencies in Spain, autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretary of State for Defence (Spain), Secretariat of State ...

(INTA), for educational, scientific and technological purposes.

UPM-Sat 1

The UPM-Sat 1, also called UPM/LB-Sat, was launched on July 7, 1995, from

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

on the flight V75 of the Ariane IV-40 launcher. It weighed 47 kg. It had an operational life in orbit of 213 days, with a Sun-synchronous

polar orbit A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of about ...

at an altitude of 670 kilometers, completing one revolution around the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

every 98 minutes.

UPM-Sat 2

The UPM-Sat 2 project aimed to develop a satellite with a mass less than 50 kg and overall dimensions less than 0.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.6 m. The UPM-Sat 2 satellite, also called M.A.T.I.A.S., was originally scheduled to launch in 1999. It was finally launched on September 3, 2020, on the flight VV16 of the

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, an ...

rocket.

References

External links

UPM-Sat 1
official website of the Technical University of Madrid.

official website of the Technical University of Madrid. {{Portal bar, Spaceflight Technical University of Madrid Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial Satellites of Spain Communications satellites Spacecraft launched in 1995 Spacecraft launched in 2020