You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
India-Pakistan
Indian rocket carries Canada's first military satellite into space
2013-02-25
Canada's first military satellite is headed into orbit alongside six other satellites that were all launched aboard a single Indian rocket Monday morning.

The 'Sapphire' will increase Canada's ability to protect its "assets and interests" in space and track man-made objects in orbit to avoid collisions, according to the Department of Defence.

A second Canadian satellite will help scientists keep track of meteors, asteroids and other space debris that could be heading towards earth.

The NEOSSat (Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite) will also track space debris in orbit, to better understand their movements.

The NEOSSat and the Sapphire are among seven satellites that were put into orbit aboard a single rocket scheduled to launch from the southern Andhra Pradesh state in India Monday morning.

Also launched was a French-built satellite that will study the world's oceans, along with two satellites from Austria, which were developed in Canada, and one each from Denmark and Britain.

The Globe and Mail science reporter Ivan Semeniuk said this is the first time that so much Canadian hardware was launched aboard a single rocket.

"The French-Indian satellite is the main payload, but it's often the case with these launches that there's enough room for a few other small passengers," Semeniuk told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.

He described Sapphire as being the size of a dishwasher while NEOSSat is comparable to the size of a suitcase.
Posted by:john frum

#1  Our Northern Cousins are advancing to the big leagues, just as we seem to be withdrawing, thank goodness.
Posted by: trailing wife   2013-02-25 20:52  

00:00