[jamsat-bb:4542] Surrey Space Centre - UoSAT-12 Status Report: Checkout

[Mikiyasu Nakayama <mikiyasu@cc.tuat.ac.jp>]

> Surrey Space Centre
>  <<...>>
> SSTL Press Release
> Wednesday 11 June 1999
> Guildford, UK
>
>
> UoSAT-12 Status Report: Checkout continues - more Earth images received
>
Satellite operators at the Surrey Mission Control Centre in Guildford
continue to check-out systems on the UoSAT-12 minisatellite, which was
launched on 21 April.
http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/SSTL-groundstation.jpg	(82kB JPEG)
http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/SSTL-groundstation-2.jpg	(47kB JPEG)

MERLION Communications Payload:
Most recent activity has concentrated on the satellite's communications
transponder payload, named "MERLION". MERLION has an L-band uplink and an
S-band downlink, and was developed jointly by Nanyang Technical University
(Singapore) and SSTL. The transponder supports analogue, digital-DSP and
digital-regenerative communications modes, as well as acting as a high-speed
data downlink channel. It is also completely dual-redundant. S-band downlink
test data at 1 Mbps has been received at Surrey with excellent signals and
the L-band uplink was also successfully tested last week. Checkout of this
complex payload and its ground support equipment is expected to last several
more weeks.

Multispectral Images:
Meanwhile, further images from the remote sensing system have been taken
over Kuwait and New Orleans (USA):

http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/UO12-kuwait-msi-irg.jpg
(476kB JPEG)
http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/UO12-kuwait-msi-rgb.jpg
(539kB JPEG)
http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/351-kuwait-nir.jpg
(102kB JPEG)
The area surrounding the city of Kuwait is very barren, resulting in
relatively small differences in the false- and true-colour images captured
by the UoSAT-12 Multispectral Imagers.  The exception are the few vegetated
areas standing out as bright red patches, recorded by the near-IR band in
the false-colour scene.  The centre of town lies to the north (the
international airport is visible in the near-IR image) the coast, the ports
and oil terminals near Mina al-Ahmadi stand out very clearly.  The area in
the bottom left of the image are oil installations, many of which were
damaged during the Gulf War in 1991.  Compared to the light brown of the
surrounding desert, the sands in this area have been stained by oil spillage
and fumes.  Spots where the oil spills have been contained are visible as
dark geometric shapes ringed by a bright, freshly bulldozed sand banks.

http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/UO12-neworleans-msi-irg.jpg  	(678kB JPEG)
This image of New Orleans was captured by UoSAT-12 on 12 May 1999.  Major
features are the Mississippi river running through the city, and the bridges
and causeways running across Lake Pontchartrain to the north and east.  Many
of the city's major landmarks stand out clearly, including the ponds in the
City Park and the Zoo, the New Orleans Lakefront airport on the promontory
jutting into the lake, and most notably the Superdome (the perfectly
circular, white object in the centre of town, easily confused with the
nearby clouds).

The whole range of UoSAT-12 EO images and status reports are currently
available at the UoSAT-12 webpage:
http://www.sstl.co.uk/missions/subpage_missions_uosat_12_extra_stat1.html


> Background:
> The 315kg UoSAT-12 minisatellite was developed and funded by SSTL and
> launched into a 650km 65 degree low Earth orbit from the Baikonur
> Cosmodrome on 21 April on the first commercial launch of a dedicated
> SS18/Dnepr through collaboration with ISKC Kosmotras of Moscow. UoSAT-12
> carries a range of payloads supporting Earth imaging, communications and
> technology demonstration.
> http://www.sstl.co.uk/primages/UO12-final.jpg (68kB JPEG)
>
>
> Further information from http://www.sstl.co.uk/ or :
>
> Audrey Nice
> Press & Publicity
> Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
> Surrey Space Centre
> University of Surrey
> Guildford GU2 5XH  UK
> Tel: +44 (0)1483 259278
> Fax: +44 (0)1483 259503
> E-mail: a.nice@surrey.ac.uk
> www. sstl.co.uk
>
>
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