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19th Dnepr rocket launches cluster of satellites

A converted Russian ballistic missile launched a record-breaking number of small satellites Thursday during its 19th mission.

Previous chapter: Dnepr launcher

Payloads

Above: Dnepr's payloads during its 19th mission. Credit: NADER's satellite blog.

The Dnepr rocket, converted from the R-36M UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missile, lifted off as scheduled on Nov. 21, 2013, at 11:10:11 Moscow Time (07:10:11 GMT) from a silo facility in Dombarovsky missile deployment area in Southern Russia.

The vehicle carried DubaiSat-2 and STSat-3 satellites as its primary cargo and a large group of small secondary payloads.

According to the Russian space officials, the launch vehicle successfully released all its satellites into their planned near-Sun-synchronous orbits with an inclination around 97 degrees toward the Equator.

The owners of the UniSat-5 satellite reported that, their payload separated at 07:25:48 GMT into a 634-kilometer orbit. Italian company GAUSS srl, which built UniSat-5 announced that ground operation stations in Italy and Spain have reported receiving data packets from the satellite indicating that the systems were functioning normally.

The mission was previously scheduled in October or November 2012. The rocket for this launch was manufactured at KB Yuzhnoe in Dnepropetrosvk in 1984 and was operationally deployed in Dombarovsky until 2009.

Payloads in Dnepr's 19th mission:

Satellite	Mission, payloads	Owner
DubaiSat-2	Remote-sensing, imagery	Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology for the Satrec Initiative, UAE
STSat-3	Astronomy and remote-sensing infrared imaging	South Korea
SkySat-1	Remote-sensing, imagery	Skybox Imaging, USA
AprizeSat-7	Data relay	-
AprizeSat-11	Data relay	-
UniSat-5	Science, life science, MRFOD, PEPPOD-1 and -2 carriers	University of Rome, La Sapienza, Italy
MRFOD carrier on UniSat-5 satellite	-	-
Eagle-1 BeakerSat Eagle-2 $50Sat WREN QBScout-1	Experimental, atmospheric drag research Experimental, thermal measurements Experimental, ion propulsion, imaging ?	Morehead State University, Kentucky, USA Morehead State University, Kentucky, USA StaKoDo UG, Germany ?
PEPPOD-1 carrier on UniSat-5 satellite	-	-
ICube-1	Imaging, communications	Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan
HumSat-D	Communications, data relay	University of Vigo, Spain
PUCPSat-1 Pocket PUCP	Experimental, themperature measurement, Pocket PUCP deployment	Insitute for Radio Astronomy at PUCP university, Peru
PEPPOD-2 carrier on UniSat-5 satellite	-	-
Dove-4	Remote sensing (imaging)	Planet labs, USA
ISIPOD-1 platform	Payloads carrier	-
HiNCube	Remote-sensing (imaging)	Narvik University College, Norway
FUNcube-1	Communications, education	AMSAT, UK
ZACUBE-1	Science, ionospheric research	Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
ISIPOD-2 platform	Payloads carrier	-
First-MOVE	Experimental	Technical University, Munich, Germany
UWE-3	Experimental	University of Wurzburg, Germany
Velox-PII	Experimental, sun sensor experiment	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
ISIPOD-3 platform	Payloads carrier	-
NEE-02 Krysaor	Imaging, education	Ecuadorian space agency, EXA
CubeBug-2 Manolite	Communications	Argentina
ISIPOD-4 platform	Payloads carrier	-
KHUSat-01 CINEMA-2	Science	Kyung Hee University, the University of California, Berkeley, USA
ISIPOD-5 platform	Payloads carrier	-
KHUSat-02 CINEMA-3	Science	Kyung Hee University, the University of California, Berkeley, USA
ISIPOD-6 platform	Payloads carrier	-
Triton-1	Data relay	-
ISIPOD-7 platform	Payloads carrier	-
Delfi-n3Xt	Experimental	Delft University of Technology
ISIPOD-8 platform	Payloads carrier	-
OPTOS	Experimental	Spanish space agency
ISIPOD-9 platform	Payloads carrier	-
Dove-3	Remote sensing (imaging)	Planet labs, USA
NLS-9 XPOD-1 platform	Payloads carrier	-
BRITE-PL Lem	Science, astronomy	Poland
NLS-9 XPOD-2 platform	Payloads carrier	-
WNISat-1	Remote-sensing	Weathernews Inc. Japan
NLS-9 XPOD-3 platform	Payloads carrier	-
GomX-1	Air-traffic control	University of Aalborg, Norway
BPA-3*	Experimental payload	Ukraine

*Remains attached to the orbiting 3rd stage of the Dnepr launcher

An early list of payloads for this mission included DubaiSat-2, STSat-3, WNISat-1, SkySat-1, UniSat-5, AprizeSat-7, AprizeSat-8, GOMX-1, BRITE-PL (Lem), a BPA-3 payload, as well as containers holding several "cubesat" microsatellites: UWE-3, Ukube-1, NEE-01 Pegaso, Delfi-n3Xt, Triton 1/2, Cinema 2/3, FUNcube-1.

Next chapter: Dnepr's 20th mission

Page author: Anatoly Zak; Last update: June 19, 2014

PICTURE GALLERY

launch

Dnepr lifts off from Dombarovsky on Nov. 21, 2013. Credit: Russia Today

DubaiSat-2

The 300-kilogram DubaiSat-2 satellite was a primary payload during the 19th Dnepr mission on Nov. 21, 2013.

STSAT-3

The 170-kilogram STSAT-3 satellite.

Skysat-1

The 90-kilogram SkySat-1 satellite.

UniSat-5

The 28-kilogram UniSat-5 spacecraft was designed to release eight satellites from its launch containers a month after reaching orbit. In turn, one of the released satellites -- PUCPSat-1 -- would then release its own sub-satellite.