Disaster aid satellites launched
Three “cheap” disaster-monitoring satellites have been launched successfully from Plesetsk in northern Russia.
The lightweight spacecraft, belonging to organisations in Turkey, Nigeria and the UK took off on board a Kosmos rocket at 1012 local time (0612 GMT) after a 24-hour delay.
The craft will form part of a network called the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), which will provide up-to-date information to relief agencies working on the ground.
They join an Algerian satellite that is already in space.
Its satellites have all been built by Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), a spin-off from the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK.
Nigeria is a very big country with an important agriculture, with important resources, and a fast-growing population, so if you’re the government, the Nigerian Government, you have to manage all this," he says.
“And either you decide to place people everywhere to monitor this on the ground, or you launch one satellite.”
HKP - I think it’s great that virtually any country can keep an eye on it’s natural resources in real-time and manage environmental concerns with reduced man power and greater efficiency.
I suppose it’s also helps in border control disputes and ensures that a handful of countries don’t have a monopoly over space.
Nice one Surrey Uni.