Royal Thai Air Force satellite all set for launch from French Guiana
The Royal Thai Air Force’s NAPA-1 satellite will be launched into orbit from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South America, on June 19 at 8.51am (Thailand time).
The satellite will head into space aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket and be placed in low earth orbit 500 kilometres high.
NAPA-1 (meaning “sky” in Thai) is the Air Force’s first satellite to be used for air surveillance in national security missions.
“The satellite will also be used to support disaster prevention and mitigation, such as displaying heat areas to help put out forest fires and exploring drought areas to improve the efficiency of water resource management,” an Air Force announcement said yesterday (June 15).
NAPA-1 is a small satellite based on the 6U CubeSat platform and weighs around 5kg. It will orbit Thailand four times a day and can take photos at a resolution of 5 to 40 sq metres.
The Air Force plans to launch two more satellites into orbit this year.
