Thai Air Force orders its first Earth Observation CubeSat

Image courtesy of ISIS.

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has just signed a contract with Innovative Solutions In Space (ISIS), a Netherlands-based company providing end-to-end CubeSat solutions, for its first ever Earth Observation CubeSat. The satellite is planned for launch through ISIS’ launch services on board Arianespace’s Vega in Q3 2019.

The contract is for a 6U CubeSat, the building and launching of which will be handled by ISIS. To complete the mission, ISIS will work closely with several component partners and subcontractors, such as Kubos Corporation, SCS Space and CubeSpace.

As part of the contract, ISIS will deliver the complete satellite, including the payload, the ground segment including mission control, the launch service and commissioning of the satellite. The contract also includes an extensive training package and knowledge transfer on satellite operations.

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“We are delighted to be working with the Royal Thai Air Force and support them in achieving their long-term operational goals, by realizing the first elements in the required space infrastructure”, said Abe Bonnema, ISIS’ Marketing Director.

Although this is the RTAF’s first CubeSat meant for Earth Observation, it owns another 6U CubeSat launched in 2016, meant for communication and experimental purposes. The 2016 CubeSat – also the country’s first CubeSat – was built and launched by ISIS through Thaicom, who then delivered it to the RTAF. In parallel, an ISIS UHF/VHF/S-Band ground station was installed at the Royal Thai Air Force base.

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