EgyptSat 1
EgyptSat 1 or MisrSat-1 was Egypt's first Earth remote sensing satellite. This satellite was jointly built by Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences together with the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine and was launched on board a Dnepr rocket on 17 April 2007 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The effort was spearheaded by Dr. Aly Sadek, chairman of the Egyptian Council for Space Science and Technology Research. It in many ways was considered a huge step for the Egyptians since it marked the first time they opted for technology transfer during the manufacturing the satellite rather than simply purchasing one (as in case of the Nilesat satellites). On 23 October 2010, the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences announced that control and communication with the satellite had been lost since July 2010. History In 2001, Egypt posted an international tender for the development of the first Egyptian satellite for the observation and remote sensing and bidders from Ukraine, UK, Russia, Korea and Italy competed for the deal. on June 26, 2001 KB Yuzhnoe design bureau from Ukraine announced winner and on October 24, a contract had been signed in Egypt. A consortium consisted of KB Yuzhnoe design bureau and sub-contractors Ukrainian companies: Yuzhnoye - prime contractor responsible for the platform and the launch Yuzhmash - Scientific Research Institute of Radio Engineering Measurements Khartron-Konsat and Khartron-Yukom - Research and Scientific Production Enterprises KONEX - State Research and Production Enterprise CONECS - responsible for the development of the two optical payloads, the onboard payload command and data handling subsystem, as well as for the development of the data processing in the ground segment Arsenal - optics manufacturing Achievements and future plans EgyptSat 1 Launched successfully on April 17, 2007. EgyptSat 2 with spatial resolution of was planned to be launched on October 1, 2013 but the launch was put on hold in 2011 following all contact being lost with EgyptSat 1. EgyptSat 2 launched into orbit 16 April 2014; last contact with the satellite was April 14, 2015. DesertSat with spatial resolution of which specialized in identifying and monitoring desert resources is planned to be launched in 2017. The objective of the three satellites is to provide comprehensive images of Egypt. Equipment Egyptsat 1 is considered a miniaturized satellite weighing 100 kg and is carrying two devices: an infrared sensing device and a high resolution multispectral imager together with store and forward communications payload. See also EgyptSat 2 2007 in spaceflight Egyptian Space Program References External links http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/egyptsat-1.htm Egypt to launch first spy satellite Egypt to launch its first scientific satellite Egypt to launch first scientific satellite in late 2007 http://www.nilesat.com.eg Earth imaging satellites Spacecraft launched in 2007 Satellites of Egypt 2007 in Egypt Spacecraft launched by Dnepr rockets