Paraguay’s First Satellite Deployed From the International Space StationMar 16, 2021
On March 14, the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) deployed a satellite from the International Space Station to help track a tiny parasite that causes Chagas disease. The satellite, Guaranisat-1, is the first developed and put into orbit by Paraguay. An estimated 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, which if untreated can be life-threatening. Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and other parts of the world have increased the geographic distribution of the disease.
Guaranisat-1 is part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, or BIRDS, supported by the nation of Japan and the Kyushu Institute of Technology or Kyutech. Guaranisat-1 launched as a component of BIRDS-4, which also includes satellites from Japan and the Philippines. Previous BIRDS launches included first satellites from Ghana, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
“Our country’s first satellite marks an historical moment,” says Alejandro Román, AEP’s “Paraguay to Space” project manager. “It is the first step in a long path to bring the benefits of space to Paraguay in areas like disaster risk reduction, agriculture, natural resources management, land management, and climate.” A three-hour television program about the project drew 2.9 million viewers in a country with 7 million inhabitants, demonstrating its power as a tool for outreach about space benefits and careers in science, technology, and engineering. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/birds-4-paraguays-first-satellite
Wątek: ISS - Międzynarodowa Stacja Kosmiczna (2021) (Przeczytany 97186 razy)