X-Sat is a
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 ...
developed and built by the
Nanyang Technological University
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country.
The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...
(NTU) in collaboration with
Defence Science Organisation
DSO National Laboratories (DSO) is a national defence research and development organisation in Singapore developing technological solutions for defence and national security.
Founded as the Electronics Test Centre (ETC), it was established in 1972 ...
(DSO)
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.
The satellite was launched by
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister o ...
's
PSLV-C16 on 20 April 2011 from
Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Satish Dhawan Space Centre – SDSC (formerly Sriharikota Range – SHAR) is the primary spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. The spaceport is located on an isl ...
FLP in
Sriharikota
Sriharikota () is a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the Shar Project settlement of Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, one of the two satellite launch centres in India (the ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The satellite was launched along with Indian
ResourceSat-2
Resourcesat-2 is a follow on mission to Resourcesat-1 and the eighteenth Indian Remote Sensing Programme, Indian remote sensing satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The new satellite provides the same services as the or ...
and Indo-Russian
YouthSat
YouthSat is a Russian-Indian scientific-educational Satellite, artificial satellite developed on the basis of an agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ...
.
Project Objectives
* Create an affordable microsatellite bus that can conduct remote sensing operations in situations close to real-time.
* To increase the nation's capacity (resources and infrastructure) for satellite engineering
* To encourage academic interest in this field's R&D
References
External links
NSSDC ID: 2011-015CHomepageAcademic paper discussing the design of the X-Sat PPUThe X-Sat PPU: designed to be the first Beowulf cluster in space
{{Orbital launches in 2011
Mini satellites of India
Spacecraft launched in 2011
2011 in India
Satellites of Singapore
2011 in Singapore