Two new Launch Service Agreements have been signed by SSTL: one between SSTL and China Great Wall Industry Corporation, Beijing; the other between SSTL and Rosvoorouzhenie, Moscow.
The first agreement enables SSTL to procure the launch of the Tsinghua-1 microsatellite, whilst the agreement with Rosvoorouzhenie is to procure a launch for both Tsinghua-1 and the Surrey SNAP-1 nanosatellite on a COSMOS launch vehicle.
Scheduled on 28th June 2000 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Tsinghua-1 and SNAP-1 will be launched into a 650km sun synchronous orbit with the Russian military Nadezhda COSPAS-SARSAT satellite.
Tsinghua-1, a microsatellite built for Tsinghua University in Beijing under a Know-How Transfer and Training contract with SSTL, is the first international microsatellite project for PR China.
The spacecraft will form the first demonstrator for a constellation of five microsatellites to provide daily world-wide high resolution imaging for disaster monitoring and mitigation. Tsinghua-1 will also carry out communications research in low Earth orbit.
Surrey’s first nanosatellite, SNAP-1, weighing just 6kg, and will carry advanced micro-miniature GPS navigation, computing, propulsion and attitude control technologies. The spacecraft’s primary payload is a machine vision system capable of inspecting other spacecraft in orbit.
