Spain becomes third EU country with its own space satellite
Spain becomes third EU country with its own space satellite
SPAIN'S first-ever satellite has been launched successfully into space from the military base in Vandenberg, California on the scheduled date, and will be a 'ground-breaking tool for protecting national security', according to Intelligence services.
The PAZ, which means 'peace' in Spanish, was taken up by the SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 at exactly 06.17 local time on Thursday (15.17 mainland Spain time), its launch having been postponed from the previous Sunday, and now hovers at 516 kilometres above the earth's surface.
PAZ's launch was streamed live worldwide in the same way as that of the Falcon Heavy, owned by the firm Elon Musk and, after Germany and Italy, makes Spain only the third country in the EU with its own observation satellite in space.
Secretary of State for Defence Agustín Conde Bajén, who travelled to California to oversee the launch, says the PAZ will be able to take accurate footage of the earth whatever the weather thanks to its high-resolution radar, which uses Synthetic-Opening Radar technology, which will be used both for civil and military purposes as well as gathering data which will be used in scientific research.
It will offer Spain its own resource for Intelligence-related work, military operation simulations, checking up on international treaties, border control, general surveillance, monitoring spillages at sea, land and housing planning including occupation and management of land, infrastructure and natural resources, natural disaster evaluation, high-resolution mapping, and monitoring of environmental aspects, including forest fires.
Secretary-General for Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises for the ministry of the economy, Begoña Cristeto, attended along with Agustín Conde Bajén, whilst defence minister María Dolores de Cospedal watched the launch via live streaming from the INTA Space Station in Torrejón de Ardoz, in the Greater Madrid region.
The Falcon 9 was due to go up on January 30, the was postponed until February 10 and again until February 17 and, for a third time, until February 18.
A fifth proposed launch date of February 21 was also put off due to wind conditions, and it finally went up on Thursday.
These delays were largely the result of a series of additional tests required pre-launch, but SpaceX assures this is not unusual.
In practice, the PAZ was supposed to be launched in 2014 by the Russian firm Kosmotras, but the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the Crimean peninsula frustrated the plans and Spanish satellite operator Hisdesat had to break off the contract with Kosmotras, losing €15 million and having to go back to the drawing board and find another space company.
Hisdesat finally signed a deal with Elon Musk's firm SpaceX.
