GhanaSat-1 (BIRDS-1)
Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech)
Ghana's first satellite, a 1U CubeSat built by Ghanaian students at Kyutech under the BIRDS-1 joint constellation program.
Technical specifications
- Form factor
- 1U CubeSat, 10x10x10 cm
- Mass
- ~1.0 kg
- Payload
- Low/high-resolution cameras, COTS-microprocessor radiation experiment, audio-message transmission, atmospheric sensors
- Deployment
- ISS Kibo module (J-SSOD), 7 July 2017
- Launch
- SpaceX CRS-11, 3 June 2017
- Mission end
- Deorbited 22 May 2019
About
GhanaSat-1 was Ghana’s first satellite, built by Ghanaian graduate students at Kyushu Institute of Technology as part of the BIRDS-1 joint multi-nation CubeSat constellation. It launched on June 3, 2017 aboard SpaceX CRS-11 and was deployed from the ISS Kibo module on July 7, 2017, alongside four sibling BIRDS-1 satellites for Mongolia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Japan. The 1U technology-demonstration and Earth-observation CubeSat carried low- and high-resolution cameras for coastline imaging, a COTS-microprocessor radiation experiment, an audio-message transmission payload, and atmospheric sensors. The mission trained Ghana’s first satellite engineers and validated the BIRDS program’s model of giving non-spacefaring nations their first satellite. GhanaSat-1 deorbited on May 22, 2019.
Documentation
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