Nigeria Edusat-1

It was Nigeria's first satellite built by a university. It was launched from the Japanese Kibō module of the International Space Station, being brought to the station as part of SpaceX CRS-11.

Nigeria EduSat-1

Nigeria EduSat-1 at deployment
Names	Bird NN
Mission type	Technology demonstration Earth observation
Operator	Federal University of Technology Akure
COSPAR ID	1998-067MY
SATCAT no.	42824
Mission duration	24 months (planned) 22 months, 5 days (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	1U CubeSat
Manufacturer	Federal University of Technology Akure
Launch mass	1 kg
Dimensions	10 × 10 × 10 cm
Power	watts
Start of mission
Launch date	3 June 2017, 21:07:38 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 FT, CRS-11
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39A
Contractor	SpaceX
Deployed from	Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer
Deployment date	7 July 2017, 08:51 UTC
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Decay date	13 May 2019
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	395.6 km
Apogee altitude	405.9 km
Inclination	51.64°
Period	92.57 minutes
Joint Global Multination Birds Satellite Birds-2 →

The satellite deorbited on 13 May 2019, nearly two years after launch.

Japan supports non-spacefaring countries in their efforts to build their first satellites through a program called the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project (Birds). Five countries constructed satellites in the Birds-1 program: Bangladesh, Ghana, Japan, Mongolia, and Nigeria. Together, the five satellites make up the Birds-1 fleet. Nigeria EduSat-1 is the first satellite built by a Nigerian university.

The project was supported by Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) as part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, which is a cross-border interdisciplinary satellite project for non-spacefaring countries supported by Japan. The university also partnered with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Abuja, Nigeria. The five satellites built by the five different countries were all identical in their design.

Nigeria has a history with satellites in space. NigeriaSat-1, NigeriaSat-2, NigeriaSat-X, NigComSat-1, and NigComSat-1R were ordered by the Nigerian government, but were not built by Nigeria.

The satellite was designed, built, and owned by the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), in conjunction with Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency and Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology. It was equipped with 0.3 megapixel and 5 megapixel cameras, and with the rest of the satellite fleet took images of Nigeria. The satellite transmitted songs and poems as an outreach project to generate Nigerian interest in science. The signal could be received by amateur radio operators. The satellite constellation also conducted measurements of the atmospheric density 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the Earth. The satellite cost about US$500,000 to manufacture and launch.

Launch

 

The launch was planned for 1 June 2017, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions. SpaceX launched the satellite on its CRS-11 mission to the International Space Station on 3 June 2017. The satellite was carried in a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A. This was the 100th launch from LC-39A and the first time SpaceX reused one of its Dragon capsules.

The satellite orbited the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and at an inclination of 51.64°. The satellite traveled around the Earth every 92.57 minutes at a velocity of 7.67 kilometres per second (4.77 mi/s).

Operations

The satellite communicated with seven ground stations: one in each of the countries participating in the Birds-1 program, and one each in Thailand and Taiwan. The primary objective was for the satellite to be a technology demonstrator and to familiarize Nigerian students and scientists with satellite technology and manufacturing techniques.

The Birds-1 satellites decayed in May 2019. Nigeria EduSat-1 was the second-to-last to decay, ending its mission 13 May 2019.