Tags: Austria, Satellite Launch, ISRO, PSLV
Publication: AustrianIndependent.com
Publication Date: 11/06/2012

Members of the project with TUGSAT-1 before sending it to India for launch. Image credit: TU Graz/Lunghammer

Austria will launch its first satellite in December with the objective of studying the nature of stars. The Austrian Space Program is funding the project, which will also serve as a test drive for possibly launching more satellites in the future.

TUGSAT-1 is a miniature satellite; it weights 7kg and will orbit 800 km above the Earth. When in orbit, it will aid an investigation on the brightness oscillations of massive luminous starts with a magnitude of 3.5 using a high-resolution optical camera. The satellite will provide exceptionally accurate photometric data, which cannot be obtained from Earth because of our atmosphere.

Developed by Graz University of Technology, TUGSAT-1 will launch as a secondary payload on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It will be monitored from Graz.

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