Mexican nanosatellite put into orbit

FLORIDA, US, (July 03, 2021).- The “PAINANI-2” nanosatellite, owned by México’s Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and designed and built by scientists from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The device was launched into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 Space X rocket.

The dimensions of the nanosatellite correspond to those of a CubeSat, that is, 10x10x30 centimeters, informed Jorge Gómez Villarreal, director of the Center for Aerospace Development of the Polytechnic: its life span will be between 2.5 and three years.

It will be located in an orbit with an altitude of approximately 500 kilometers and has a payload consisting of a camera that will allow it to capture infrared images that provide precise temperature measurements.

It has subsystems of stability and control that allow regulating the positioning of the satellite within its orbit; communications to establish the Earth-satellite links and vice versa; a power subsystem that allows transporting solar energy in electricity, which was complemented with a group of batteries that will allow its operation in periods of eclipse

The general director of the IPN, Arturo Reyes Sandoval, pointed out that the institution trains new generations of scientists and technologists, who in the future, with their ideas and innovations, will help transform Mexico and the lives of those who need it most.

Experts from the University Space Program Center (PEU) and the Engineering Institute of UNAM participated, through doctors Esaú Vicente Vivas (deceased) and Juan Ramón Rodríguez Rodríguez, in coordination with the Mexican Space Agency (AEM).

Source: Excelsior