TigriSat
{{short description|CubeSat}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox spaceflight |auto=all
| name = TigriSat
| image =
| image_caption =
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| mission_type = Earth Observation
| operator = La Sapienza University of Rome{{·}}Iraq Ministry of Science and Technology
| COSPAR_ID = 2014-033AK
| SATCAT =
| website = [https://tigrisat.com/ tigrisat.com]
| mission_duration =
| manufacturer =
| spacecraft_bus = CubeSat 3U
| launch_mass = 3.00 kg
| dimensions =
| power = Solar cells, batteries
| launch_date = June 19th 2014 19:11 UTC
| launch_rocket = Dnepr
| launch_site = OREN, Dombarovsky
| launch_contractor = Kosmotras
| deployment_date =
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| orbit_reference = Geocentric
| orbit_regime = Low Earth (SSO)
| orbit_semimajor = 7025 km
| orbit_eccentricity =
| orbit_periapsis = 612.9 km
| orbit_apoapsis = 696.3 km
| orbit_inclination = 97.8°
| orbit_period = 97.7 minutes
| orbit_RAAN =
| orbit_arg_periapsis =
| orbit_mean_anomaly =
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| orbit_velocity =
| orbit_epoch =
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| apsis = gee
| telescope_type =
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| trans_band = VHF{{·}}UHF{{·}}S-band
| trans_frequency = 435.000 MHz
| trans_bandwidth =
}}
TigriSat is a CubeSat built in 2014 by a team of Iraqi students at the La Sapienza University of Rome as one of the four satellites deployed within UniSat-6.{{cite web |title=Technical details for satellite TIGRISAT |url=https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=40043 |website=N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions |accessdate=28 July 2019}}{{Cite conference |last=Paris |first=C. |last2=Parisse |first2=M. |last3=Allawi |first3=W. A. |date=June 2015 |title=Thermovacuum tests on TIGRIsat structure: Validation of the thermal model of a 3U cubesat |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7180646/ |conference=2015 IEEE Metrology for Aerospace (MetroAeroSpace) |publisher=IEEE |pages=160–165 |doi=10.1109/MetroAeroSpace.2015.7180646 |isbn=978-1-4799-7569-3|url-access=subscription }} It uses an RGB camera to detect dust storms over Iraq, and transmits the data to ground stations in Baghdad and Rome.{{Cite web |title=TigriSat |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tigrisat.htm |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}} It is considered Iraq's first satellite.{{cite web |last1=Abdallah |first1=Amir |title=Iraq launches its first satellite – TigriSat |url=https://www.iraqinews.com/features/iraq-launches-first-satellite-tigrisat/ |website=IraqiNews |date=June 20, 2014 |accessdate=28 July 2019}} It was launched from Orenburg on June 19, 2014 on a Dnepr launch vehicle.
History
File:Unisat-6 deployment phase.jpg
In 1989, under Saddam Hussein's government, Iraq claimed to have launched a satellite. However, footage showed that the launch vehicle exploded early in liftoff, and called into question whether the launch was an attempted orbital launch. Thus, this satellite is the first launched for Iraq. Its launch, at the time, was record-breaking for the greatest number of satellites launched on a single rocket.{{cite web |last1=William |first1=Graham |title=Russian Dnepr rocket lofts record haul of 37 satellites – NASASpaceFlight.com |date=June 19, 2014 |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/06/russian-dnepr-rocket-record-launch-37-satellites/ |accessdate=28 July 2019}} In 2018, this satellite's signal was briefly mistaken for that of another CubeSat, PicSat.{{cite web |title=Bye bye PicSat (for now) |url=https://picsat.obspm.fr/news/allnews |website=PicSat |accessdate=28 July 2019}}