 Nigeria EduSat-1 at deployment | |
| Names | Bird NN |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology demonstration Earth observation |
| Operator | Federal University of Technology Akure |
| COSPAR ID | 1998-067MY |
| SATCATno. | 42824 |
| Mission duration | 24 months (planned) 22 months, 5 days (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 1UCubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Federal University of Technology Akure |
| Launch mass | 1 kg |
| Dimensions | 10 × 10 × 10 cm |
| Power | watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 June 2017, 21:07:38UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 FT,CRS-11 |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Deployed from | Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer |
| Deployment date | 7 July 2017, 08:51 UTC |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 13 May 2019[2] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 395.6 km |
| Apogee altitude | 405.9 km |
| Inclination | 51.64° |
| Period | 92.57 minutes |
Birds-2 → | |
Nigeria EduSat-1 was a Nigeriannanosatellite built by theFederal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), created in conjunction with the JapaneseBirds-1 program. It was Nigeria's first satellite built by a university. It was launched from the JapaneseKibō module of theInternational Space Station, being brought to the station as part ofSpaceX CRS-11.[3]
The satellite deorbited on 13 May 2019, nearly two years after launch.
Japan supports non-spacefaring countries in their efforts to build their first satellites through a program called the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project (Birds). Five countries constructed satellites in theBirds-1 program:Bangladesh,Ghana,Japan,Mongolia, andNigeria.[4] Together, the five satellites make up the Birds-1 fleet.Nigeria EduSat-1 is the first satellite built by a Nigerian university.[5]
The project was supported byKyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) as part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, which is a cross-border interdisciplinary satellite project for non-spacefaring countries supported byJapan. The university also partnered with theNational Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA),Abuja,Nigeria. The five satellites built by the five different countries were all identical in their design.[6]
Nigeria has a history with satellites in space.NigeriaSat-1,NigeriaSat-2,NigeriaSat-X,NigComSat-1, andNigComSat-1R were ordered by the Nigerian government, but were not built by Nigeria.[7]
The satellite was designed, built, and owned by theFederal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), in conjunction with Nigeria'sNational Space Research and Development Agency and Japan'sKyushu Institute of Technology.[8][9] It was equipped with 0.3−megapixel and 5−megapixel cameras, and with the rest of the satellite fleet, took images ofNigeria. The satellite transmitted songs and poems as an outreach project to generate Nigerian interest in science. The signal could be received byamateur radio operators. Thesatellite constellation also conducted measurements of the atmospheric density 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the Earth.[10] The satellite cost about US$500,000 to manufacture and launch.[11]
The launch was planned for 1 June 2017, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions.[12]SpaceX launched the satellite on itsCRS-11 mission to theInternational Space Station on 3 June 2017. The satellite was carried in aDragon spacecraft on aFalcon 9 rocket, launched from NASA'sKennedy Space Center,LC-39A. This was the 100th launch from LC-39A and the first timeSpaceX reused one of its Dragon capsules.[1]
The satellite orbited the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and at an inclination of 51.64°. The satellite traveled around the Earth every 92.57 minutes at a velocity of 7.67 kilometres per second (4.77 mi/s).[13][11]
The satellite communicated with sevenground stations: one in each of the countries participating in the Birds-1 program, and one each inThailand andTaiwan.[4] The primary objective was for the satellite to be a technology demonstrator and to familiarize Nigerian students and scientists with satellitetechnology and manufacturing techniques.[5]
TheBirds-1 satellites decayed in May 2019. Nigeria EduSat-1 was the second-to-last to decay, ending its mission on 13 May 2019.[14]
