The First 100% Basqué Satellite LUR-1 It’s Already In Orbit

It was launched using the Falcon 9 rocket of Space X as contractor and supervised by NASA in California. The ‘LUR-1’ satellite incorporates the MICE [RAT] device, also developed by the Alava company for the ESA (European Space Agency). MICE [RAT] is the device that will be installed in all the satellites of the Copernicus program.

It has taken three years of scientific and technological activity and an investment of 8 million euros (40% of which comes from public funds) to make it possible to launch this satellite, which, according to the company, is the first ‘smallsat’ (small-sized satellite) made in Spain.

An orbitable satellite

The satellite, which will orbit the Earth at a speed of 7 kilometres per second , has been designed to have a useful life of five years. After this period, it will be captured from its space orbit for its subsequent re-entry into the atmosphere, where it will disintegrate. “It will be the first of its kind in Europe,” says AVS. All this technological development has been conceived for the capture of high-definition images of the Earth, although, in principle, the focus of the mission is on the geography of the Basque Country, to observe the evolution of the coast, analyse pest and river controls or manage the distribution of crops, among others. 

The launch took place at 20:56 hours and minutes after the launch the rocket and satellite separated, created in the Álava Technology Park – where the images it captures will be received – and began to orbit at a distance of about 500 kilometres above the Earth’s surface.

The flow of information generated by its images will be useful to its potential clients (institutions and research centres throughout the country, as well as commercial clients from all over the world). If until now the company had worked as a supplier of critical systems or components for large space missions, with the launch of the ‘LUR-1’ it has managed to lead an entire mission. That is to say, it now designs the project, manufactures it and tests it, and, furthermore, once launched into space, it is also the one who controls it from Earth, receives the data sent by the satellite and processes it. “It is an extraordinary qualitative leap for AVS,” the company highlights. 

LUR-1 is a 57-kilogram microsatellite that incorporates multi-band antennas, a deployable arm and solar panels . It will orbit the Earth at a speed of 7 kilometers per second and has been designed to have a useful life of five years . After its useful life, it will be captured from its space orbit for its subsequent re-entry into the atmosphere, where it will disintegrate.

Its mission will be to take high-definition images of the Earth, although in principle the focus is on the geography of the Basque Country , to observe the evolution of the coastline, analyse pest and river controls or manage the distribution of crops, among others.

The LUR-1 satellite incorporates the MICE [RAT] device, also developed by the Alava company for the ESA (European Space Agency). MICE [RAT] is the device that will be installed on all satellites in the Copernicus programme in preparation for their deorbiting in the event that they stop working or for use at the end of their useful life.

The ‘LUR-1’ satellite incorporates the MICE [RAT] device, also developed by the Alava company for the ESA (European Space Agency). MICE [RAT] is the device that will be installed in all the satellites of the Copernicus program in preparation for their deorbiting in the event that they stop working or for their use at the end of their useful life. The ESA is promoting the development of these technologies within the framework of its Zero Debris 2030 program.

This has made LUR-1 the first European satellite to put this technology into orbit, with the aim of demonstrating the possibility of getting rid of space debris , the company said.

The director of the LUR-1 mission, Rainer Díaz de Cerio , explained to EFE that after this first launch, the company plans to put two more satellites into orbit between February and April of next year and a fourth in September.