The first Bulgarian satellite, "Balkan-1", has been launched

The first Bulgarian satellite Balkan-1 was launched, which will transmit data for the Copernicus programme of the European Union. Developed by the company EnduroSat, the satellite was put into orbit using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg base in Santa Barbara, California. The mission launch was observed online at the Planetarium of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna.

The satellite is designed to collect data from space that is of national and regional interest, explained Lyubomir Toshev, a software architect at EnduroSat, in an interview with BTA. The satellite will be able to monitor marine basins and ships, assist in disaster relief, contribute to map creation, and conduct surveillance of coastal areas and strategic infrastructure. The main idea is to also contribute to security.

"There is a multispectral sensor on board that monitors the Earth and water bodies in several spectral bands. This can extract information about the content of various chemicals and elements in the water and soil, monitor their quality, analysing the level of various pollutants and the content of microplastics," he explained.

This is the first entirely Bulgarian satellite with a scientific and security purpose, Toshev added. While the company has previously launched dozens of other satellites, they were primarily for commercial purposes.

"Balkan-1" is a nanosatellite weighing 32 kg, with a sensor resolution capable of observing 1.5 square meters of Earth's surface per pixel. It orbits 500 kilometres above the Earth and has a planned lifespan of five years, after which it will descend and burn up to avoid creating space debris, Toshev explained.

The satellite is part of the EU's flagship space programme Copernicus, aimed at studying various characteristics of the Earth. It was selected through a competitive process, Toshev added. All systems of the satellite were manufactured in Bulgaria, except for the multispectral sensor. A unique feature of "Balkan-1" is its advanced onboard data processing capabilities, using artificial intelligence, which helps deliver processed and useful information to Earth. The company believes they have made all the necessary decisions to ensure the satellite fulfills its mission over the course of five years.

This is another launch carried out by EnduroSat using Falcon 9 from California, Toshev noted, emphasizing that the rocket is reusable. For this mission, the rocket carried 135 other satellites, which are deployed once it reaches orbit.

At the Naval Academy’s Planetarium, an exhibition has been arranged, showing data from other EnduroSat satellites, including images from Antarctica’s ice sheets, the Sahara, and the Bahamas.

The company plans to gradually create a constellation of 120 Balkan satellites, which will provide much broader Earth observation coverage.

Source: BTA