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SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Taiwanese satellites “Albatross” and “Nightjar” as part of the company’s Transporter 11 rideshare mission on Saturday (Aug. 17) at 2:56 a.m.

According to a Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) press release on Saturday, both satellites entered orbit around 5:30 a.m., per CNA. The mission is part of the agency’s 10-year “star-chasing” program.

Dubbed “CubeSats” because of their small size, Albatross will be used for marine operations while Nightjar will conduct communication tests with ground equipment. TASA said compared to traditional satellites, CubeSats have lower costs and are smaller, allowing rockets to launch several to dozens of them at once.

Albatross is an ocean color camera. The team selected four hotspots in Earth’s equatorial region as the main target areas for the Albatross to capture images, analyzing ocean color information to locate changes in fishing grounds, TASA explained.

Nightjar is equipped with a Ku-band high-speed Internet of Things (IoT) service payload. The agency said its mission is to perform communication tests with ground-based fixed or high-speed moving terminal equipment.

According to SpaceX, the company has launched more than 1,000 small satellites (smallsats) for over 130 clients.

Date: 2024-8-17
Source: Taiwan News