27943 - BILSAT 1

BILSAT 1 is a Turkish DMC (multinational Disaster Monitoring Constellation) satellite that was launched by a Kosmos 3M rocket at 06:12 UT on 2003 September 27 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The 130-kg satellite carries five imaging cameras to monitor natural disasters at a resolution of 26 m in color by four cameras (operating in red, green, blue, and infrared colors) and another at 4-m resolution in black-and-white. The DMC is run by an organization of seven countries (UK, Algeria, China, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam) with the satellites built at Surrey, UK. BilSat 1 will also help in agriculture and urban planning. Initial orbital parameters were period 98.5 min, apogee 694 km, perigee 675 km, and inclination 98.2 degrees.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2003-09-27
Launch Vehicle: Kosmos-3M
Launch Site: Plesetsk, Russia