Mission type | Earth observation |
---|---|
Operator | Algerian Space Agency |
COSPAR ID | 2016-059C |
SATCAT no. | 41785 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | SSTL |
Launch mass | 103 kilograms (227 lb) [1] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 26 September 2016, 03.44:00 | UTC
Rocket | PSLV-C35 [1] |
Launch site | Sriharikota |
Orbital parameters | |
Regime | Sun synchronous |
Periapsis altitude | 700 kilometres (430 mi) |
Apoapsis altitude | 700 kilometres (430 mi) |
Inclination | 98 degrees |
Period | 98.5 min |
Alsat-1B is an Algerian satellite operated by the Agence Spatiale Algerienne for agricultural and disaster monitoring. [2] [3] The contract for the mission was signed in July 2014. The satellite is based on the SSTL-100 bus. The satellite weighs 103 kilograms (227 lb) and carries an Earth imaging payload with 12-metre (39 ft) panchromatic imager and 24-metre (79 ft) multispectral cameras. [4] [2]
The satellite had high participation from ASAL, with eighteen engineers that worked on assembly, integration, and test. Additionally, at the University of Surrey, 18 students used the satellite as a part of their graduate degree research. [2]
The satellite was launched on 26 September 2016 into a 670-kilometre (420 mi) altitude polar orbit by ISRO using the PSLV-C35 rocket. [5] It was launched with several other satellites. The primary payload was SCATSAT 1, which was launched into a Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit. This was the first time PSLV launched satellites into different orbits. Algeria had three satellites that it will operate launch in that group, which were AlSat-1B, AlSat 2B, and AlSat-Nano. AlSat-2B also had imaging capabilities, but they are higher resolution than AlSat-1B. Of the eight satellites launched by PSLV, five of them were foreign. The remaining satellites were BlackSky Pathfinder 1, Pratham, PISat, and CanX 7. [3] [4]
Alsat-1B uses three body mounted solar panels for power generation, and a 15 Amp-hour Li-Ion battery for power storage. It uses warm gas, butane powered resistojets for propulsion. [3] The attitude control system uses Sun sensors and magnetometers. [6]