Technology
Another ICEYE Satellite Launching Soon [Video]
ICEYE-X2 is a SAR sensor-equipped Polish-Finnish EO satellite. It is going to be sent into space onboard the flagship SpaceX launch vehicle in late November. The launch would constitute another step towards creating an innovative constellation, the purpose of which would be to obtain satellite imagery, regardless of lighting conditions and cloud cover prevalent in the given area.
ICEYE-X2 satellite will be yet another system sent into the outer space by ICEYE, a company co-created in Finland by a Pole, Rafał Modrzewski. The company, as development of its business progresses, also expands its activities in Poland. Flight control centre for the current and future satellites has been established in Warsaw.
ICEYE-X2 has been build with significant support provided by the Piaseczno-based Creotech Instruments company. ICEYE is willing to create a unique constellation of EO satellites fitted with synthetic aperture radars that are able to scan the surface of the Earth regardless of the time of day and weather. The satellites are to offer a short revisit time which will be beneficial in case of monitoring the changes happening in the given environment.
ICEYE-X2 successfully passed the required tests, and then it has been sent to California. The system is going to be sent into space with the use of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. If weather permits, the lift off is expected to happen on 19th November, at the Vandenberg AFB. The very same launch vehicle is going to be used to carry the student-developed PW-Sat2 satellite, the main purpose of which would be to test a deorbit sail, as a technology that could be useful in the process of acting against the space debris.
ICEYE-X2 which is the first Polish-Finnish commercial EO satellite will be placed onboard the Falcon, within the framework of the “SSO-A: SmallSat Express” mission, coordinated by Spaceflight Industries. In this case we are dealing with a joint launch of more than 60 small satellites developed by 34 different entities.
ICEYE-X2 is going to be placed in a heliosynchronous low Earth orbit. Until the end of 2019 ICEYE plans to launch another 8 satellites that would become a part of the newly created constellation.
ICEYE-X1 satellite launched earlier, that has been used as a technology test platform, has successfully captured more than 600 satellite images of the Earth.
Article written in collaboration with ICEYE