“We are extremely happy to inform you that EagleEye established communication! In the meantime, we have the latest photo for you showing the moment after the solar panels were opened – take a look” – this is what the Polish company Creotech Instruments, the leader of the EagleEye project, wrote on X. What the photo looks like can be seen in Creotech's post:
The largest Polish satellite has established contact with Earth.
“It is with great satisfaction and pride that I can announce that we have successfully completed the first and extremely important phase of the EagleEye mission in orbit. The launch was successful. Initial operations also went smoothly. Thanks to the efficient work team of operators and engineers from Creotech, the satellite has reached a stable orbit at an altitude of approx. 510 km and is ready for further operation. All received parameters are normal and we are currently preparing for further actions,” said Dr. Piotr Dziuban, Engineering Director at Creotech Instruments SA (quoted after RMF FM) in a press release.
Now, the engineers will have to calibrate the subsystems and perform tests to prepare EagleEye to perform tasks in orbit. In this final stage, when the satellite is fully operational, it will be launched telescope Scanway optical. Its task is to observe the Earth in the visible and near infrared bands.
The first such space mission of Poles
EagleEye is the largest and most advanced yet Polish satellite. On Friday evening Polish time it was launched into Earth's orbit rocket Falcon 9 of SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. During this mission, Falcon took on board about 130 satellites. EagleEye was created as part of a project co-created by Polish companies Creotech Instruments and Scanway and the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It was built in Poland. The dimensions of the satellite after unfolding the solar panels are 55 cm x 150 cm x 90 cm. It weighs 55 kilograms.
“Designing and building a satellite of this size in Poland required unique skills and experience. We manage a mission that is of great importance for the entire domestic space sector. We open the door for domestic entities to the rapidly growing and profitable market of designing, building, integrating and launching small satellites into Earth orbit. It is a great honor and at the same time a responsibility,” said Marcin Mazur, EagleEye project manager.