September 3 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's first satellites, NEMO-HD and TRISAT, were launched into space on Thursday on board the Vega VV16 rocket, the economy ministry said.
The European Space Agency launched the Vega rocket from French Guiana carrying into orbit 53 satellites from 21 customers from 13 countries, the ministry said in a statement.
The launch had been delayed for several months due to the coronavirus restrictions and unfavourable weather conditions.
The 65-kg NEMO-HD microsatellite is part of an innovative and cost-effective remote sensing system developed by the Slovenian Centre of Excellence for Space Sciences and Technologies. It will explore a new Earth observation concept by combining interactive real-time video and multispectral imaging, the ministry said.
The 5-kg TRISAT nanosatellite was developed by the University of Maribor, based on a platform of Slovenian company SkyLabs. It aims to demonstrate the Slovenian space technologies into orbit, taking into account the latest miniaturization trends and focusing on remote sensing of the Earth's surface via a miniaturised multispectral optical sensor.