AISSat-1 is a Norwegian satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 that was launched from India on July 12, 2010 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Satish Dhawan Space Centre

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre is the launch centre for the Indian Space Research Organisation . It is located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India, north of Chennai in South India. It was originally called Sriharikota High Altitude Range , and was sometime known as Sriharikota Launching Range...

. The satellite's aim is to improve maritime safety in the Northern sea. The satellite, which is an experimental satellite, will receive and forward signals from an Automatic Identification System

Automatic Identification System

The Automatic Identification System is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by Vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and AIS Base stations...

 (AIS). Thus, the coverage of the AIS expands from the coastal waters of all oceans Norway manager.

AISSat-1 is a nano-satellite which is shaped like a cube

Cube

In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. The cube can also be called a regular hexahedron and is one of the five Platonic solids. It is a special kind of square prism, of rectangular parallelepiped and...

 in the dimensions of 20cm x 20cm x 20cm. It weighs six kilograms. The technology on board the AISSat-1 was developed in cooperation between the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment

Norwegian Defence Research Establishment

The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment is a research institute that conducts research and development on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and provides expert advice to political and military defence leaders...

, Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime is a Norwegian technology enterprise within the Kongsberg Gruppen . Kongsberg Maritime deliver systems for positioning, surveying, navigation and automation to merchant vessels and offshore installations...

, the Norwegian Coastal Administration

Norwegian Coastal Administration

Norwegian Coastal Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 92,000 km Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation infrastructure, pilotage and harbour and port infrastructure, including lighthouses...

 and the Norwegian Space Centre

Norwegian Space Centre

The Norwegian Space Centre is a Norwegian government agency that promotes space exploration.-Norsk Romsenter :...

. The satellite has cost 30 million and is financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry is a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It is led by Trond Giske . The department must report to the legislature, Storting.-History:The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries was created...

.

The launch, which was originally scheduled for May 9th, was eventually postponed to July 12th after a flaw was discovered in the rocket during testing.

External links

• AISSat-1 - The Norwegian Space Centre