Investigadores e ingenieros del IAC en el congreso SSSIF
After the excellent results from its predecesor, DRAGO (Demonstrator for Remote Analysis of Ground Observations) the updated version of this instrument, designed to observe the Earth from space in now ready. DRAGO-2 has optics with higher resolution, and fills the need for images in the short wavelength range of the Canaries and of other parts of the world.
This marks the start of the stage of design and manufacture of the satellite in which it will be launched. This satellite has been named ALISIO-1 (Advanced Land-Imaging Satellite for Infrared Observations) and will be developed in collaboration with the space company Open Cosmos. As well as including the DRAGO-2 camera this satellite will have a device for making optical communications from the ground to space. This work, which will be carried out in the second half of 2023 by the DEIMOS/D-Orbit consortium, via the small satellite launcher ION. Finally the satellite will be commissioned in space, jointly with the the Open Cosmos company, followed by the operational phase, led by the team from IACTEC-Space. The project is posible thanks to the "Programa de Capacitación" of Cabildo de Tenerife and the "Plan de Recuperación y Resiliencia" from the spanish Goverment.
This news has been announced today at the Spanish Small Satellites International Forum 2022 in Malaga. This is an important milestone for the IACTEC-Space team, which will, for the first time, be leading a complete space mission.
Development of optical payloads for micro-satellites for Earth observation from low orbits.
The IACTEC-Space programme of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has signed an agreement with the Italian space tranporting company D-Orbit to integrate the payload of the DRAGO instrument into the ION Satellite Carrier. The aim of this project is to carry out in-orbit demonstration (IOD) operations during the next PULSE misión, which will take place in January 2021. The programme is carried out within IACTEC, the zone of technical and business collaboration of the IAC which is funded (Programme of Training) and infrastructure (IACTEC building) by the Cabildo Insular of Tenerife.
This afternoon the DRAGO infrared camera, developed by the team at IACTEC-Space, of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), and integrated into the ION satellite carrier of the Italian company D-Orbit, has been successfully launched into space on Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket. The Transporter-1 mission, as it is called, was carried out without a hitch during the first hour of the launch window which opened at 15:00 h UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida (USA).
DRAGO, the infrared camera developed by the team at IACTEC-Space of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, has seen its “first light”. The instrument, placed in orbit in January from Cape Canaveral is in its commissioning phase. The images taken show the mouth of the rio Meghna in the Ganges delta, the largest delta in the world. Even though it is a preliminary test, the quality of the results is well above expectation and show what DRAGO will be able to do once it is fully operational. On January 24th 2021 the infrared camera DRAGO ( Demonstrator for Remote Analysis of Ground
The DRAGO ( Demonstrator for Remote Analysis of Ground Observations) camera, developed entirely by the team of IACTEC-Microsatellites of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has obtained its first images of the Canary Islands. DRAGO was launched into space on January 24th this year on a Falcon 9 rocket of the Space-X company, integrated into a small satellite called ION-mk02 by the D-orbit company. Since then the satellite and the DRAGO camera have undergone a setting up phase which was completed successfully by taking its first images of the Canary archipelago. These were taken on
