All information in this publication was received between 01 July 2010 and 31 July 2010.
A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UTC).
COSPAR/WWAS
USSTRATCOM
Spacecraft Name
Launch Date (UT)
International ID
Catalog Number
2010-036A
36828
Beidou IGSO 1
31 July 2010
2010-035E
36799
TISat 1
12 July 2010
2010-035D
36798
Alsat 2A
12 July 2010
2010-035C
36797
AISSat 1
12 July 2010
2010-035B
36796
STUDSAT
12 July 2010
2010-035A
36795
Cartosat 2B
12 July 2010
2010-034A
36792
EchoStar 15
10 July 2010
B. Text of Launch Announcements.
2010-036A
Beidou IGSO 1, a Chinese navigation satellite, was launched by a Long March 3A rocket from
Xichang at 21:30 UT on 31 July 2010. The craft has an orbital inclination of 55° and will
eventually operate from a circular orbit of about 35800 km altitude to cover the Asia-Pacific
region. Beidou IGSO 1 will join four other Beidou 2 satellites already in space and is intended to
form part of an eventual system, also known as Compass, composed of 35 satellites in
geostationary and medium-altitude orbits. The Compass system is expected to be operational
for Asian-Pacific users by 2012 and to global users by 2020. The positional accuracy for civilian
users is expected to be about 10 m.
2010-035E
TISat 1, a Swiss satellite, was launched on 12 July 2010 from Sriharikota at 03:52 UT by a Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle. TISat 1 is a student-developed, low-cost CubeSat mission of SUPSI
(Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana, i.e., University of Applied Sciences
of Southern Switzerland). The objectives of the mission include monitoring of the durability of
exposed thin bonding wires, PCB tracks and lines (atomic Oxygen effects), verification of the
system fault tolerance scheme, acquisition of spacecraft environment and operating data.
2010-035D
Alsat 2A, a remote-sensing Algerian satellite, was launched on 12 July 2010 from Sriharikota at
03:52 UT by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Alsat 2A is part of a two-satellite system that will
enable Algeria to obtain very high-quality images for use in a wide variety of applications,
including cartography, management of agriculture, forestry, water, mineral and oil resources,
crop protection, management of natural disasters and land planning. Alsat 2B, the second part
of the satellite system, will launch at a later date.
2010-035C
AISSat 1, a Norwegian satellite, was launched on 12 July 2010 from Sriharikota at 03:52 UT by
a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. AISSat 1 is equipped with an instrument that receives and
forwards Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, a radio communications network with
transmitters on most large vessels. Using AIS the satellite will demonstrate maritime
ship-tracking technologies.
2010-035B
STUDSAT (STUDent SATellite), an Indian satellite, was launched on 12 July 2010 from
Sriharikota at 03:52 UT by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The main objective of the satellite is
to perform remote sensing and capture images of the surface of the Earth using its camera of
resolution 90 m, which will be used for vegetation and terrain mapping. STUDSAT was
designed and developed by a consortium of seven Engineering Colleges from Bangalore (4)
and Hyderabad (3). The mission life is slated to be six months.
2010-035A
Cartosat 2B, an Indian Earth observation satellite, was launched on 12 July 2010 at 03:52 UT
from Sriharikota. The 694 kg satellite was launched by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The
satellite carries a panchromatic, high spatial resolution, stereoscopic vision camera. The
satellite's black and white camera has a resolution of 0.8 m and will observe Earth land and
ocean surfaces from orbit. The imagery will have applications in resource mapping, urban
planning, transportation studies, water monitoring, and crop inventories.
2010-034A
EchoStar 15, a US communications satellite, was launched on a Proton-M rocket with a
Breeze M upper stage from Baikonur on 10 July 2010 at 18:40 UT. The craft weighed 5521 kg.
The satellite will broadcast direct-to-home programming service to the eastern half of the United
States. In the coming weeks, ground controllers will command the satellite's own engine to
circularize the orbit at about 35800 km altitude above the equator where the craft will match the
Earth's rotation and appear parked at 61.5° W longitude. EchoStar 15 carries 32 Ku-band
transponders and has a design life of 15 years. It will replace EchoStar 3.