ESTCube-1

ESTCube-1 was the first satellite from Estonia. It was made as part of the Estonian Student Satellite Program, and was launched on 7 May 2013 on a Vega rocket. The satellite is a project in which university and high-school students took part. The CubeSat standard for nanosatellites was followed while it was built, resulting in a 10x10x11.35 cm cube, with a volume of 1 liter and a mass of 1.048 kg.

ESTCube-1

ESTCube-1 illustration
Mission type	Technology
Operator	University of Tartu
COSPAR ID	2013-021C
SATCAT no.	39161
Website	http://www.estcube.eu/en/home
Mission duration	1 year, 9 months and 10 days (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	1.048 kilograms (2.31 lb)
Dry mass	1.048 kilograms (2.31 lb)
Power	3.6W [1]
Start of mission
Launch date	7 May 2013, 02:06:31 (2013-05-07UTC02:06:31Z) UTC
Rocket	Vega flight VV02
Launch site	Kourou ELA-1
Contractor	ESA
End of mission
Deactivated	17 Feb 2015, 10:27:00 (2015-02-17UTC10:27Z) UTC[2]
Last contact	19 May 2015[1]
Decay date	2038*estimated
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	665 km
Apogee	665 km
Inclination	98.129 degrees
Period	98.03 minutes

ESTCube-1 was put into orbit by Arianespace, using a Vega rocket which took off from ELA-1 at Kourou at 02:06:31 UTC on 7 May 2013 at a height of 670 kilometres.