The Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency (EXA) reports that the first Ecuadorian satellite NEE-01 PEGASO is complying one year in orbit and still operational, despite the lateral collision occurred in May 23-2013. PEGASO was launched into Earth orbit on April 25, 2013 by a Chinese rocket LM2D, launched from the Jiuquan spaceport.
The primary mission of NEE-01 PEGASO was to prove the space technology 100% national during one year, and that mission has been accomplished beyond original expectations due to the lateral collision of it, an event which it survived and was able to continue maintaining its full functionality. In its first year of operation, the NEE-01 PEGASO has drawn 5,295 orbits around our planet and has travelled 234 million kilometers. Over 10 million people have seen the live video transmissions from space by NEE-01 PEGASO.
In response to the original guidelines of the project, the Ecuadorian Space Agency declares NEE-01 PEGASO mission as “as accomplished exceeding the nominal expectations”. The NEE-01 will continue in orbit until 2023 and EXA will continue to operate the satellite until their systems still operational, so each day from today, the continuous operative NEE-01 is a new milestone in the Ecuadorian space history.
PEGASO”s position in real time can be seen at https://pegaso.exa.ec.
Source: EXA
