Turkey’s first mini satellite launched into space

ANKARA

Designed by the Grizu-263 space team of students from the Bülent Ecevit University in the northern province of Zonguldak, Turkey’s first PocketQube satellite project, Grizu-263A, was launched into space on Jan. 13 with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The mini-satellite, which is 5x5x5 centimeters, has been located on a low earth orbit of 525 kilometers and operate for four years and eight months.

The mission of the satellite will be to take photos of the earth.

The Grizu-263 team has been known for its efforts on space and satellite technologies since 2016, the year it was established. Sponsored by the country’s leading steel manufacturer Erdemir, the team produced many projects that achieved various trophies in national and international contests.

The team, named after a firedamp (which means ‘grizu’ in Turkish) explosion that killed 263 miners in the Kozlu district in 1992, has been working on the PocketQube satellite for the last five years.