[SatNews] Now transmitting images...

Singapore’s first locally-built micro-satellite has started transmitting images back home. NTU embarked on the project with DSO National Laboratories in 2002, hoping to generate interest among students in engineering R&D. The X-SAT, as it is known, sent the first image of Singapore on May 7th, more than two weeks after its launch, as the micro-satellite orbited within a 3,000-km radius of Singapore – an ideal range to send back its first image of Tuas. That morning, the satellite passed by the western part of Singapore. Four days later, the ground center received the first complete image of Singapore. Scientists can use the satellite photographs to track environmental changes, such as soil erosion and oil pollution. Director of NTU's Satellite Research Centre, Associate Professor Low Kay Soon, said the successful transmission of images was a great achievement for Singapore. “Space science is the pinnacle of science and technology. We hope to train more undergraduates to work in the field of satellites.” X-SAT will be exhibited at the Science Centre Singapore over the June school holidays.

Over the next few months, the X-SAT team will perform a series of in-orbit tests on the satellite to continue its imaging experiments and to carry out other scientific missions. X-SAT will orbit for three years at a height of 800 kilometres and take photographs which will help scientists to measure soil erosion and environmental changes. It can also capture data for monitoring forest fires and oil pollution at sea. The satellite carries three payloads, namely an imaging system, an advanced navigation experimental set-up, and a parallel processing unit for image processing. The imagery data is beamed to the 13m X-band antenna at the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing.