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Techsat 1

A LEO microsat named Techsat 1 (aka Gurwin 1) was in final preparation in late 1994 for an early 1995 piggy-back launch on the maiden flight of the Russian Start launch vehicle. Developed at the Asher Space Research Institute of the Israel Institute of Technology with the assistance of the Israel Space Agency and IAI, Techsat 1 is a 3-axis-stabilized spacecraft of 50 kg mass. The multi-purpose payload will include a digital store/dump message handling system for amateur radio operators as well as a UV telescope, a CCD imaging system, and X-ray detectors. The spacecraft is to be inserted into an orbit of approximately 700 km altitude (References 144-145, 147-148).

144. A. Tal, "Israel in Space", Spaceflight, October 1993, pp. 344-345.

145. T. Pirard, "Small is Beautiful", Spaceflight, April 1995, pp. 122-123.

146. INTESPACE press release, 11 July 1994.

147. S. Parnes, "Israeli Students Begin Work on Techsat 1 Satellite", Space News, 31 August - 6 September 1992, p. 34.

148. ITAR-TASS News Agency, 1 November 1994.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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