The first images taken by Vietnam’s MicroDragon satellite were sent to a ground station in Japan on January 22 (Vietnam time), according to the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
The first unprocessed test images of the TPI camera system were taken four days after the MicroDragon satellite was launched in the US’s region. Photo: VNSC
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MicroDragon satellite’s TPI system is responsible for observing, detecting cloud coverage, characteristics of aerosols and improving atmospheric correction.
Then, the satellite took images of Australia’s waters for the second time testing at an altitude of about 512 km at 6:30 am the same day.
These modified cameras are two cameras of multispectral optical camera systems - Spaceborne Multispectral Imager (SMI). This is the device used to capture images of marine color observations to assess the quality of coastal waters which will serve the fishery and aquaculture industry in Vietnam.
All the data that the MicroDragon satellite captured was sent to ground station in Japan at 07:42am on January 23. After decoding, the data obtained was monochromatic images at different spectral bands, showing that the initial step of the photography was successful.
As planned, the remaining cameras and the entire satellite system will be calibrated to find the optimal set of parameters when satellites operate in orbit. All of this work will be carried out by VNSC’s staff in collaboration with VNSC’s officials working at Tokyo University, Japan in the next three months.
MicroDragon was launched into space at 9:50am in Japan on January 18. The satellite was developed by 36 Vietnamese engineers from the VNSC, who were sent to study space technology in top Japanese universities. The group began manufacturing the satellite in 2013 and completed and tested it in 2017.
