The satellite has an expected life span of about three years during which it will conduct various scientific tasks such as studying the Sun, X-ray emissions and space weather.
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (SAASST) of the University of Sharjah (UOS) received the first communication signal from its first CubeSat, Sharjah-Sat-1, on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 10:02 am, once it reached its orbit around Earth.
Sharjah-Sat-1 is the first miniaturised satellite, launched by SAASST on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, as part of a series of CubeSats that the UOS intends to launch in cooperation with several national institutions and organisations in the Emirate of Sharjah.
It has been placed in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550km and is equipped with sensors, cameras and communication devices to carry out its mission.
The project engineers at SAASST were prepared to receive the first communication signal from the CubeSat after it reached its orbit around Earth. The signal demonstrates the state of the satellite and its readiness to perform its mission after successful deployment from the main spacecraft. Sharjah-Sat-1 is now in its low Earth orbit, 550 km above the Earths surface. Therefore, the operation of the subsystem started gradually as the small satellite began its 90 minutes orbit around Earth.
The SAASST engineering team is continuously monitoring the movement of the CubeSat once it passes over the Emirate of Sharjah. More signals are expected to be received and sent to check on the health of all subsystems, especially the iXRD detector and the dual cameras.
