MicroDragon has been successfully developed, and now is waiting for Japanese authorities to issue safety license for launch by the end of this year.
MicroDragon is an Earth observation satellite with the weight of 50kg and size of 50x50x50 centimeters cube. After being launched into space, MicroDragon is responsible for observing coastal sea to evaluate water quality, to locate fishery resources, to monitor the change of phenomena occurring in coastal areas in order to serve Vietnamese aquaculture. MicroDragon also detects cloud coverage and aerosol features, supporting atmospheric correction; collects ground-based sensors signals and quickly transfers this data to locations far apart on the Earth. The satellite, at the same time, will do experiments of new material technology (Atomic Oxygen, Antimony Tin Oxide Coating Solar Cell).
MicroDragon was developed with participation of 36 Vietnamese engineers from Vietnam National Space Center, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, who studied space technology in Japan. Starting the manufacturing in 2013, MicroDragon has successfully been completed and tested in 2017.
“Japanese authorities are considering to issue safety license for MicroDragon satellite. After being authorized, the Epsilon rocket provided by IHI Aerospace Company (Japan) will bring Vietnamese MicroDragon into orbit”, said Assoc. Prof. Pham Anh Tuan, Director General of Vietnam National Space Center.
Micro Dragon is the next step in the process of gradually catching and mastering satellites design and manufacturing technology in Vietnam. Before MicroDragon project, engineers from Vietnam National Space Center successfully made PicoDragon (10x10x11.35 centimeters cube, 1 kg). This satellite was launched into orbit in November 2013 and successfully operated in space. As scheduled, after MicroDragon, Vietnam will make LOTUSat-1 and LOTUSat-2 satellites with advanced radar technology, 600kg of weight for each, nearly 12 times to MicroDragon, the size of 1.5×1.5×3 meters cube and 5-year lifetime in orbit.
