Sich-2-30, Ukraine’s fourth satellite, is in space! Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched it into orbit with a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellite was designed, assembled and tested in Dnipro, Ukraine, at the Pivdenne Design Bureau.
- Sich-2-30 will collect digital images of the Earth’s surface and can also monitor the planet’s ionosphere. This information will allow surveying the use of lands and resources, natural disaster relief, engineering structures, security issues.
- After launch, the satellite will be integrated into Copernicus — the European Union’s Earth observation program.
- Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously launched Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Transporter-3 is SpaceX’s third dedicated rideshare mission, and on board this launch are 105 spacecraft (including CubeSats, microsats, PocketQubes, and orbital transfer vehicles).
Video: SpaceX