“We sent our dream and hope into the future!” said TUM engineers.
TUM - the Technical University of Moldova, together with media representatives and all those who wanted to witness the historic event of launching the nanosatellite TUMnanoSAT into orbit, gathered in one place, at Tekwill, on Friday, August 12, 2022. This satellite was solely created, manufactured, assembled and tested by the Technical University of Moldova. Astronauts from the International Space Station launched Moldova's first nanosatellite into orbit at 12:45 P.M. (Moldova time). This is a premiere for the Republic of Moldova, as well as a spatial experience of a high calibre for the international community.
The good news is that the satellite started communicating soon after its launch. Below is the image confirming the successful connection of a radio amateur with TUMnanoSAT.
However, it was a long way to get here. According to Viorel Bostan – TUM rector: It all started with a dream of TUM engineers about 14 years ago to place Moldova on the list of countries capable of addressing space technologies. As of June-August 2021, the TUMnanoSAT satellite, built by the Technical University of Moldova, passed all of its functional tests, which met international standards. TUM was selected for the KiboCUBE Program, by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) for providing the free launch of the nanosatellite into orbit. It was transferred to Japan at JAXA in March 2022, where it was inserted into the JSSOD launch capsule. Later in April, it was sent to NASA and put aboard Cargo Dragon-2. On July 15, 2022, TUMnanoSAT was launched into space with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for being delivered to the International Space Station. TUMnanoSAT is a cube with a 10 cm edge weighing only 1.15 kg. The main purpose of this satellite is for research and education. It can collect reference data, test how nanowire sensors behave in space, capture space images in multiple formats and send them to ground stations. Additionally, it could advance research on solar energy.
Professors and students from different faculties of TUM contributed to the creation of TUMnanoSAT. The average age of the team is just under 30 years. Moreover, their dream doesn't end here – the team is now working on a second version of the nanosatellite.
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