Musk's Rocket Successfully Puts Ukrainian Satellite into Orbit. Sich-2-30 Has Already Transmitted First Data

All onboard systems are operating normally.

On January 13, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully placed the Ukrainian optical satellite Sich-2-30 into orbit. 

At 18:50, the Ukrainian satellite separated from the rocket, as planned. At 20:15, it flew over Ukraine. 

Ukraine has not launched its own space technology since 2011, so the launch of this satellite is of great importance for the country. It is the first, but not the last, step toward overcoming the space crisis. 

The satellite was launched to monitor the state of bodies of water, forests and urban development, to track natural disasters, as well as for "solving the defense and security tasks of the country" and for international cooperation in the exchange of satellite data. 

Sich-2-30 got its name because it was planned to be launched in the year of Ukraine's 30th anniversary of independence, but the launch was postponed. The satellite is not actually a new development. It was assembled back in 2011, but all its components were upgraded for this launch. 

Some components of Sich-2-30 are manufactured by companies from Europe and South Korea. It is worth noting that the space program for 2021–2025 envisages placing eight Ukrainian satellites into orbit. 

Volodymyr Taftai
head of the State Space Agency

The program has three main areas: creating space Earth observation systems and powerful rocket technology, introducing the latest space technologies into the services market, and large-scale R&D. More specifically: eight Ukrainian satellites in orbit, one with medium spatial resolution, six with high (1 meter) resolution, and one with ultra-high (0.5 meter) resolution. 

In addition, the creation of a Lunar Module is planned, as well as the design and development of tools, systems and instruments for the Lunar mission of the international Artemis project. 

On the evening of January 13, the satellite had already transmitted first data from an altitude of 525 km. This was reported by People's Deputy Dmytro Kisilevskyi of Servant of the People, who was at the Space Communications Center near Dunaivtsi in Khmelnytskyi region. 

Dmytro Kisilevskyi
People's Deputy from Servant of the People

The Ukrainian satellite Sich-2-30, developed by the Yuzhne Design Bureau in Dnipro, has just transmitted first data here from an altitude of 525 kilometers. The initial communication session was successful. The anxiety associated with the Falcon 9 launch and the deployment of the satellite into orbit is behind us. 

According to him, the satellite will stabilize in orbit over the next two months, its solar panels will be tested, and the first trial image will be received in Dunaivtsi on the ninth day. After that, data will begin to arrive in full. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the National Center for Control and Testing of Space Assets near Dunaivtsi successfully conducted the first communication session with the satellite, and its onboard systems are operating normally. 

Zelensky noted that the Ukrainian satellite will be integrated into the European Union's Earth observation program Copernicus. 

Data obtained through Sich-2-30 will help Ukrainian farmers and cartographers, as well as the forestry and water management, security and defense sectors, and the monitoring of emergencies and natural disasters.