UiTMSAT-1 was a Malaysian

nanosatellite A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites c ...

, built primarily by

Universiti Teknologi MARA The MARA Technological University ( Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university in Malaysia, based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to ...

(UiTM) as part of the multi-nation Birds-2 project. The 1U

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...

was launched into space on 29 June 2018 and deployed from the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

(ISS) on 10 August 2018.

Background

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

has had several satellites in orbit, beginning with the

MEASAT MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) is a Malaysian communications satellite operator that owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides s ...

constellation, first operational in 1996. Their first

microsatellite A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain Sequence motif, DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organ ...

, TiungSAT-1, was launched in 2000.

Development

Planning for the mission began in December 2016 at the

Kyushu Institute of Technology The is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology. It is earlier abbreviated to KIT and is now official ...

(KIT). UiTM postgraduate students Syazana Basyirah Mohammad Zaki and Muhammad Hasif Azami developed the satellite over a 19-month period and collaborated with eight other students from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, and Japan. This collaboration also inspired the creation of a new Communication Satellite Centre at

(UiTM).

Objectives

* Demonstrate an

Automatic Packet Reporting System Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio-based system for real time digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. Data can include object Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, non-directi ...

digipeater to communicate with

amateur radio station An amateur radio station is a radio station designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground st ...

s. * Detect a specific type of

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

called "single event

latch-up In electronics, a latch-up is a type of short circuit which can occur in an integrated circuit (IC). More specifically, it is the inadvertent creation of a low- impedance path between the power supply rails of a MOSFET circuit, triggering a parasi ...

". * Measure

magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

s through the use of an Anisotropic Magneto Resistance

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

. * Act as an Earth Imaging Camera.

Launch and mission

UiTMSAT-1 was launched to space on 29 June 2018 by the

Falcon 9 Full Thrust Falcon 9 Full Thrust (also known as Falcon 9 v1.2) is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle when reused and Heavy-lift launch vehicle when expended designed an ...

rocket at

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States as part of the

SpaceX CRS-15 SpaceX CRS-15, also known as SpX-15, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched 29 June 2018 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission was contracted by NASA and flown by SpaceX. Launch In early 2015 ...

Commercial Resupply Service mission.

Maya-1 Maya-1 was a Filipino nanosatellite. It was developed under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite program (PHL-Microsat) and was jointly implemented by the University of the Philippines and the Department of Science and ...

and BHUTAN-1, which were also developed under the Birds-2 project, were among the payload of the rocket. All three nanosatellites were deployed from the

(ISS) and achieved orbit on 10 August 2018.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2018 Spacecraft launched in 2018 CubeSats Satellites of Malaysia 2018 in Malaysia Satellites deployed from the International Space Station Universiti Teknologi MARA