From a cosmodrome in the U.S. on January 9 a space craft was launched taking first Lithuanian-made nanosatellites LituanicaSAT-1 and LitSat-1 into space.
Satellites were a product of co-operation between The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and teams from Kaunas Technology University and the Space Sciences and Technology Institute in Vilnius University.
Spacecraft Cygnus is carrying also carrying crew provisions, spare parts and other hardware to the International Space Station.
The Lithuania Tribune reports that it was a thrilling moment for young Lithuanian scientists to launch their first space satellites.
One of the creators of LituanicaSAT-1 from Vilnius University, Vytenis Buzas, admitted that this is not only a huge project for him personally as young person, but also for his young country.
«It is fascinating that being only a 23 year-old independent country, Lithuania’s scientists managed to enter space. I am extremely happy to be part of this team,» said Buzas.
LitSat-1 and LituanicaSAT-1 are small cube-shaped nanosatellites, which aim to use low cost open-source software and hardware for primary and secondary flight computers. The computers will control the payload consisting of an onboard VGA camera and GPS receiver, as well as a linear transponder and a packet radio transceiver.
The satellites will float in the Earth’s orbit for more than six months, 400 kilometres above the planet’s surface. After the mission, satellites are expected to fully burn out while falling in the atmosphere.
Source: Baltic News Network - The Lithuania Tribune