THEOS, also known as Thaichote, is an earth observation mission of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, developed at
EADS
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
Astrium SAS,
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
, France. In July 2004, EADS Astrium SAS signed a contract for delivery of THEOS with GISTDA (
) of
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand. GISTDA is Thailand's leading national organization (i.e., space agency) in the field of space activities and applications. The Thai Ministry of Science and Technology funds the program.
THEOS was launched from
Dombarovskiy at 06:37
UTC on 1 October 2008, by a
Dnepr rocket
The Dnepr rocket (russian: Днепр, translit=Dnepr; uk, Дніпро, translit=Dnipró) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch ...
.
The satellite was initially planned for a 2007 launch using the space vehicle
Rokot
Rokot (russian: Рокот meaning ''Rumble'' or ''Boom''), also transliterated Rockot, was a Russian space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of into a Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N (SS-1 ...
of
Eurockot Launch Services
Eurockot Launch Services GmbH is a commercial spacecraft launch provider and was founded in 1995. Eurockot uses an expendable launch vehicle called the Rockot to place satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). Eurockot is jointly owned by ArianeGroup ...
. The contract was however canceled when Eurockot faced a parts shortage.
On 24 March 2014, THEOS captured images showing some 300 objects in close proximity to the suspected crash site of
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination ...
, in the Indian Ocean. The discovery was reported by
GISTDA
The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Public Organization) ( th, สำนักงานพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีอวกาศและภูมิสารสนเทศ (องค์การมหา ...
on 27 March 2014. The objects have not yet been identified as debris.
Benefits
THEOS was used to observe natural resources in the country by gathering information to be used by both the government and public for research and mapping. THEOS observation missions are conducted to observe agriculture sites, the production of agricultural crops, forest demolition, forest types, shrimp farms, water pollution from oil leaks, water sources, community areas, illegal farms, disaster areas, and the satellite can also be used for city planning. THEOS also reduces the cost of purchasing satellite images from other countries. Moreover, the information that is gathered from the satellite can also be sold to other countries. Thailand has also gained knowledge and technology for designing and building satellite from the French. In addition, specialists from France also travel to Thailand to teach Thai personnel every year.
Overview
THEOS was designed to be a small sized satellite with a mass of 750 kg (include equipment and fuel). It has a hexagonal shape with a height of 2.4 meters and a width of 2 meters (when the solar panel folds). It was launched into low earth orbit in 2008 to an altitude of 822 km and with an inclination of 98 degrees. It is equipped with optical imagery which can observe in the visible band to near infrared. Its mission duration is expected to be at least 5 years.
References
Earth imaging satellites
Satellites of Thailand
Spacecraft launched in 2008
Spacecraft launched by Dnepr rockets
{{thailand-stub