Canada will launch the world's first orbital telescope to track asteroids
Ottawa, 25 February. / Corr. ITAR-TASS Alexander Pakhomov. Canada will launch the world's first orbital telescope to track asteroids today. As reported by the Canadian Space Agency / CCA /, the launch is scheduled for 07: 20 on the time of the Atlantic coast of North America / 16: 20 Moscow time /.
The Indian launch vehicle, which will be launched from the Shriharikot space center located on the same island in the Bay of Bengal, should deliver the satellite to the geostationary orbit for observing near-earth objects, or NEOSSat / NEOSSat.
According to CCA, NEOSSat is not only the first Canadian space telescope, but also “the first telescope in the world specially designed to detect and track asteroids from orbit”. "Making a revolution around the Earth in 100 minutes, it will scan outer space near the Sun in order to detect asteroids that are almost impossible to find now by other means," the agency said. "This will significantly improve our ability to observe space objects that can a threat to the Earth. The satellite is also able to monitor the situation with orbital debris, and this will be its second task. "
NEOSSAT was created by Canadian designers commissioned by the CCA and the Ministry of Defense of the country using the latest advances in space technology "as a microsatellite". "The weight of the device is the size of a suitcase of just 65 kg, - the agency indicated. - It is equipped with a relatively small telescope: see 15 diameter. However, its advantage is that it is located approximately 800 km above the Earth, which will detect barely visible traces of asteroids in the abyss of space" .
Creating a device cost in 25 million dollars. “It does not have a propulsion system,” said William Harvey, project manager at CCA. “The satellite is equipped with solar panels. And only 80 watts of energy are required for its operation.”
With the help of NEOSSAT, Canadian scientists are also looking to find such asteroids that could become "potential platforms for scientific experiments" or mining, Harvey noted.
Together with NEOSSAT, the first Canadian military satellite Sapphire and two nanosatellites will be sent to geostationary orbit using the same Indian rocket.
The mission of Sapphire, as Secretary of Defense Peter MacKay noted last October, is to “track objects in near-earth orbits in order to prevent collisions between satellites or satellites with space junk.” Our government views this satellite as an important component of the defense of Canada and North America, carried out by the efforts of the Joint Command of the Aerospace Defense of North America / NORAD / ", he stressed. Ottawa singled out the domestic company MacDonald for the creation of the 150-kilogram" Saphira " p & Associates "66 million.
Nanosatellites in the form of a cube with a side of 20, designed by the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto, are equipped with a telescope and are designed to monitor the brightest stars in the universe.
The Indian launch vehicle, which will be launched from the Shriharikot space center located on the same island in the Bay of Bengal, should deliver the satellite to the geostationary orbit for observing near-earth objects, or NEOSSat / NEOSSat.According to CCA, NEOSSat is not only the first Canadian space telescope, but also “the first telescope in the world specially designed to detect and track asteroids from orbit”. "Making a revolution around the Earth in 100 minutes, it will scan outer space near the Sun in order to detect asteroids that are almost impossible to find now by other means," the agency said. "This will significantly improve our ability to observe space objects that can a threat to the Earth. The satellite is also able to monitor the situation with orbital debris, and this will be its second task. "
NEOSSAT was created by Canadian designers commissioned by the CCA and the Ministry of Defense of the country using the latest advances in space technology "as a microsatellite". "The weight of the device is the size of a suitcase of just 65 kg, - the agency indicated. - It is equipped with a relatively small telescope: see 15 diameter. However, its advantage is that it is located approximately 800 km above the Earth, which will detect barely visible traces of asteroids in the abyss of space" .
Creating a device cost in 25 million dollars. “It does not have a propulsion system,” said William Harvey, project manager at CCA. “The satellite is equipped with solar panels. And only 80 watts of energy are required for its operation.”
With the help of NEOSSAT, Canadian scientists are also looking to find such asteroids that could become "potential platforms for scientific experiments" or mining, Harvey noted.
Together with NEOSSAT, the first Canadian military satellite Sapphire and two nanosatellites will be sent to geostationary orbit using the same Indian rocket.
The mission of Sapphire, as Secretary of Defense Peter MacKay noted last October, is to “track objects in near-earth orbits in order to prevent collisions between satellites or satellites with space junk.” Our government views this satellite as an important component of the defense of Canada and North America, carried out by the efforts of the Joint Command of the Aerospace Defense of North America / NORAD / ", he stressed. Ottawa singled out the domestic company MacDonald for the creation of the 150-kilogram" Saphira " p & Associates "66 million.
Nanosatellites in the form of a cube with a side of 20, designed by the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto, are equipped with a telescope and are designed to monitor the brightest stars in the universe.
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