| Alsat-1B | |
| Mission Type: | Earth observation |
| Operator: | Algerian Space Agency |
| Manufacturer: | SSTL |
| Launch Mass: | 103kg (227lb)[1] |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | PSLV-C35 |
| Launch Site: | Sriharikota |
| Orbit Regime: | Sun synchronous |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 700km (400miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 700km (400miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 98 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 98.5 min |
Alsat-1B is an Algerian satellite operated by the Agence Spatiale Algerienne for agricultural and disaster monitoring.[2] [3] The contract for the mission was signed in July 2014. The satellite is based on the SSTL-100 bus. The satellite weighs and carries an Earth imaging payload with 12m (39feet) panchromatic imager and 24m (79feet) multispectral cameras.[4]
The satellite had high participation from ASAL, with eighteen engineers that worked on assembly, integration, and test. Additionally, at the University of Surrey, 18 students used the satellite as a part of their graduate degree research.
The satellite was launched on 26 September 2016 into a 670km (420miles) altitude polar orbit by ISRO using the PSLV-C35 rocket.[5] It was launched with several other satellites. The primary payload was SCATSAT 1, which was launched into a Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit. This was the first time PSLV launched satellites into different orbits. Algeria had three satellites that it will operate launch in that group, which were AlSat-1B, AlSat 2B, and AlSat-Nano. AlSat-2B also had imaging capabilities, but they are higher resolution than AlSat-1B. Of the eight satellites launched by PSLV, five of them were foreign. The remaining satellites were BlackSky Pathfinder 1, Pratham, PISat, and CanX 7.
Alsat-1B uses three body mounted solar panels for power generation, and a 15 Amp-hour Li-ion battery for power storage. It uses warm gas, butane powered resistojets for propulsion. The attitude control system uses Sun sensors and magnetometers.[6]
Algeria national space programs