Deimos-2, the first Spanish-built high-resolution satellite, is already in low Earth orbit after its successful launch from the Russian headquarters in Yasni , south of the Ural Mountains. At 21:26 yesterday, the launch of the satellite concluded successfully, with the detachment of the space rocket that transported it to an altitude of 600 km, at a speed of 28,000 km / h. At this time, the satellite has already completed about 10 laps around the planet, compared to the 23,700 that its predecessor Deimos-1 has traveled, and its operation is optimal.
With a resolution 400 times higher than that of Deimos-1 and only comparable to that of a few satellites worldwide , the satellite will provide detailed images with applications in the environment, civil protection, defense and prevention of natural disasters. Each pixel will correspond to less than a square meter of land, and its agile camera will be able to point in any direction, while its software processes and sends the images in just two hours. The calibration of your systems will not be completed for a few months, at which time images will be taken.
This aerospace innovation has been designed entirely by the Elecnor Deimos company at the Puertollano Satellite Integration Center (Ciudad Real), equipped with a clean room to simulate the environmental conditions of the space, and a large 11 meter diameter antenna for the long distance communications. The ambitious project has involved an investment of 60 million euros, a figure that is expected to increase to 100 million euros at the end of its useful life, which is estimated at 7 years , although it is true that it could be extended in the same way than its namesake.
Deimos-2 was injected into Earth orbit along with 32 other satellites by a Dnepr rocket, a Cold War ICBM converted into a space shuttle. This was propelled from a missile silo, that is, an underground base also used in the 1960s to hide missiles and protect them from a possible nuclear attack.
The Spanish creation joins the more than 10,000 artificial satellites that orbit our planet today.
