GhanaSat-1

GhanaSat-1
Names Bird GG
ANUSAT-1
Mission type Technology demonstration
Earth observation
Operator All Nations University
COSPAR ID 1998-067MV[1]
SATCAT no. 42821
Mission duration Planned: 18 months
Elapsed: 1 month, 10 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type 1U CubeSat
Launch mass 1 kg (2.2 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 3 June 2017, 21:07:38 (2017-06-03UTC21:07:38) UTC[2]
Rocket Falcon 9 FT, CRS-11
Launch site Kennedy LC-39A
Contractor SpaceX
Entered service 7 July 2017, 08:51 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Semi-major axis 6,778.8 km (4,212.2 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0004315
Perigee 397.8 km (247.2 mi)
Apogee 403.6 km (250.8 mi)
Inclination 51.64°
Period 92.57 minutes
Epoch 9 August 2017, 03:04:24 UTC[3]

GhanaSat-1 is the first Ghanaian satellite in space, built with support from the Japanese Birds program.[4] It was released into space from the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer on the International Space Station on 7 July 2017 and will be used to monitor environmental activities along Ghana's coastline.

Background

Japan supports non-spacefaring countries to build their first satellite through a program called The Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project (Birds). Five countries participated in the first Birds program: Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. GhanaSat-1 was the first Ghanaian satellite launched into space.[1]

Design

Development

GhanaSat-1 was designed, assembled, and tested by three students at All Nations University.[5] The project was supported by Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) as part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, which is a cross-border interdisciplinary satellite project for non-spacefaring countries supported by Japan. The five satellites built by the five different countries were all identical in their design.[6]

The two-year period spanning the development, construction, launch and operation of the satellites engaged three university students from each of the five participating countries. All five satellites had to be identical to each other in the class of a 1U CubeSat.[7] The satellite cost about $500,000 to manufacture and launch.[8]

GhanaSat-1 was given to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on 9 February 2017. JAXA passed GhanaSat-1 on to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 12 February.[5] GhanaSat-1 Birds designation is Birds-G.[9]

Operation

GhanaSat-1 is a CubeSat, a type of small satellite weighing around 1 kilogram (2.2 lb).[5] Power is generated from solar cells and stored in batteries.[1] The satellite is cube shaped, with 10 centimetres (3.9 in) on each side.[10]

Sensors

GhanaSat-1 carries low- and high-resolution cameras that will be used to take pictures of Ghana and monitor the country's coastline. The satellite will also broadcast the national anthem of Ghana. The satellite has the ability to receive requested songs from the ground and play them in space.[5] Finally, the satellite will be used to measure the effects of radiation in space on commercial microprocessors.[5]

Mission

Launch

Fire erupts from the rockets engine as smoky rocket exhaust bounces off of the launch pad and smoky vapors trail down the side of the vehicle
SpaceX launch of CRS-11 with GhanaSat-1 onboard

SpaceX launched the satellite on its CRS-11 mission to the International Space Station on 3 June 2017. It was carried in a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, the 100th launch from that pad. This was the first time SpaceX had reused one of its Dragon capsules.[2]

This mission also carried CubeSats from Japan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Mongolia.[9] The satellites from Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA) and Mongolia (Mazaalai) are those countries first satellites.

Cubesats being launched from the Kibo module of the International Space Station

GhanaSat-1 was launched by a Japanese astronaut from the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer, located in the Japanese Kibo module of the International Space Station, 7 July 2017.[9] The satellite launch was broadcast live and watched by over 400 people at All Nations University.[4]

The satellite orbits the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and at an inclination of 51.61 degrees. The satellite travels around the Earth every 91 minutes at a velocity of 7.67 kilometres per second (17,200 mph)[11][8]

Operations

The satellite is primarily a technology demonstrator and Earth observation satellite. The Ghana scientists will take images of the Ghanaian coastline for cartography. The director of Space Systems Technology Laboratory at All Nations University, Richard Damoah, said the satellite would "...also help us train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities around our region. For instance, [monitoring] illegal mining is one of the things we are looking to accomplish."[4]

The satellite communicates with seven ground stations: one in each of the countries participating in the Birds 1 program, and one each in Thailand and Taiwan.[1] The satellite can be contacted five to six times a day. The planned lifespan of the satellite is 14 months.[6]

Future work

The university plans to coordinate with the government to build GhanaSat-2 and GhanaSat-3. The primary objective of GhanaSat-2 is to monitor water pollution, illegal mining, and deforestation.[12] One of the project's engineers, Ernest Matey, said: "We hope that from today onward, a group of engineers will be trained and groomed to build the GhanaSat-2."[13]

Japan's work with non-spacefaring countries will continue with BIRDS-2 in 2018 with participation from the Philippines, Bhutan, and Malaysia.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bird B, BTN, G, J, M, MYS, N, PHL (BRAC Onnesha, GhanaSat 1, Toki, Mazaalai, Nigeria EduSat 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (3 June 2017). "Reused Dragon cargo capsule launched on journey to space station". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Bird MM - Orbit". Heavens Above. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ghana launches its first satellite into space". BBC News. 7 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "GhanaSat 1: Ghana's First Space Satellite To Be Launched in Japan". BuzzGhana.com. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Mongolia to send first satellite off to space on June 4". News Ghana. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Mongolia to send its first satellite to space on June 4". The Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 3 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. 1 2 Babatunde, Mark (11 July 2017). "Ghanaian Engineers Launch Ghanasat-1, Join Space Race". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "BIRDS-1 AMSAT-UK". amsat-uk.org. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Brac University says ‘hi’ to first nano-satellite". The Daily Star. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "President Akufo-Addo congratulates All Nations University for Ghanasat-1 Satellite". Ghana News Agency. 7 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Ghana to launch GhanaSat 2 & 3 - Satellite Technical Team". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "GhanaSat-1: Benefits Ghana could derive from space science". GH Headlines. Retrieved 24 July 2017.

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