GLASGOW,
Scotland — Thailand's Theos Earth high-resolution optical Earth observation
satellite was successfully placed into a transfer orbit Wednesday by a
Russian-Ukranian Dnepr silo-launched rocket after nearly two years of delays
related to launch-vehicle availability, according to Thai authorities and
satellite prime contractor Astrium Satellites.
The
silo-launched Dnepr rocket, a converted
ballistic missile, placed the 1,576-pound (715-kg) Theos into a 428-mile (690-km)
parking orbit after the launch from Russia's Yasny spaceport, in the Orenburg
region 74 miles (120 km) west of Orsk.
After
initial tests at that orbit for several days, Theos will use its onboard
propulsion to climb into its operating orbit at 510 miles (822 km), inclined at
98.7 degrees relative to the equator.
Astrium
spokesman Matthieu Duvelleroy said initial telemetry showed the satellite had
been placed into the correct orbit and was healthy.
Thailand's
Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) contracted
with Astrium to build Theos in July 2004. The contract included a Theos ground
segment and a training program for Thai engineers. The company now is training
Chilean engineers for the launch of an Astrium-built Chilean optical Earth
observation satellite in 2010.
Theos has
two optical imagers, one providing a 7-foot (2-meter) ground resolution and a
swath width of about 14 miles (22 km), and the second providing color images
with a 49-foot (15-meter) resolution and a 56 miles (90-km) swath width. The
satellite is designed to operate for five years, but has enough fuel for at
least seven years.
Thai
authorities will use Theos for environmental management, civil security
including natural-disaster monitoring and defense-related applications
including illicit plant surveillance, as well as border and maritime control.
GISTDA
originally had planned a launch in early 2007 with the Russian-German Eurockot
Launch Services GmbH, whose Rockot vehicle launches from Russia's Plesetsk
Cosmodrome. The contract was canceled when Eurockot was confronted with a parts
shortage and could not guarantee a 2007 launch.
But ISC
Kosmotras of Moscow, which commercializes Dnepr launches, ran head-on into an ongoing Russian
launch problem: drop-zone authorizations from states down-range of the
launch site — states that no longer accept that rocket stages land on their
territories.
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan all have objected to launches pending compensation
agreements.
One
industry official said Kosmotras' likely ongoing difficulties in securing
launch authorization from nations, plus a sharp price increase in Kosmotras
launch prices, will cause owners of Earth observation and other small
satellites to look for other options.
Sir Martin
Sweeting, founder of small-satellite builder Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
of Guildford, England, whose company has used Dnepr in the past, said the
Sunday success of Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 1 rocket could
help keep prices of small-satellite launchers down.
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