Tal Amber, Vancouver, Canada
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/iacnanosat.html
Russia will launch 50 nano-satellites in October 2007, the 50th anniversary of the first space launch - of the Sputnik spacecraft on October 1, 1957.
The 50 nano-satellites, each of which weighs about one kilogram, will be launched aboard a Soyuz launcher from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to a polar orbit.
I met today with Prof. Oleg Alifanov from the Aviation Institute in Moscow who said that the official announcement will be made in the coming days.
An interesting aspect of this initiative is that each of the 50 nanosatellites will be built in a different country, basically those countries that are members of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Israel is also a member of the IAF and the first talks began between Prof. Alifanov and the launch of an Israeli nano satellite. The chances of that seem good.
In the meantime, the Ariane company, which owns the launch center in Koro, also issued a press release
To mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first artificial satellite, Ariane Space will launch a cluster of 50 nanosatellites for the International Astronautical Federation in 2007.
Ariane Space, the Russian space agency with the support of the Russian space industry and the International Astronautical Federation, in collaboration with leading space agencies from all over the world, are coming up to mark the launch of the first satellite in 1957 by putting 50 nanosatellites into orbit, each representing a different country.
Each such nano-satellite will weigh one kilogram, and will be dedicated to one scientific experiment under the responsibility of researchers or representatives in universities and other organizations. The lifespan of each such nanosatellite will be about two years. All 50 satellites will be launched by Arianespace's Ahard launch.
(As a reminder, Ariane Space signed with the Russian space company that also launched the Amos satellite, on the construction of a launch pad for Soyuz launchers in Koro).
Tal Inbar is vice president The Israeli Space Association
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~969129644~~~183&SiteName=hayadan
