A new science satellite has been successfully launched by South Korea on Thursday, November 21, 2013. The new satellite has been launched with an aim to begin a mission which will last for two years and will help in discovering more about the evolution of the universe. The satellite has been named the Science and Technology Satellite-3 (STSAT-3) and was blasted off at 1:10 pm on a Dnepr launch vehicle from the Yasny launch base located in southern Russia, which is close to the border with Kazakhstan.
The liquid-fueled Russian launcher sent the satellite – which weighs 170 kilograms – into orbit, about 600 kilometers above the sea level. The Russian launch team said, “The launch vehicle, successfully released the STSAT-3 into our target orbit around Earth exactly 929 seconds after lift-off”.
Rhee Seung- wu, the STSAT-3 program manager while talking to the press said, “It’s a great relief after all the things we’ve been through to prepare this moment, over the past seven years”. Controllers of the satellite stated that the first contact was made at 2:40 pm, which is 89 minutes following the lift-off at a ground station in Svalbard.
The satellite has been designed in order to measure temperature changes on the surface of the Earth. Moreover, it will also test essential space technologies which will include a new type of lithium-ion battery, as well as multipurpose composite structure which the satellite features.
Photo Credits: DW
