NIBONG TEBAL: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and SpaceIn Sdn Bhd, a spin-off company of USM involved in the production of small satellites and IoT services, made history with the launch of Malaysia's first picosatellite, SpaceANT-D, at 2.47am today.
The launch utilised SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
SpaceANT-D will be released from the deployer AlbaPod within the next seven to 10 days, and then its first handshake will be sent to the ground station.
Measuring 5x5x5 cm and weighing less than 250g, SpaceANT-D will demonstrate the mission of storing and forwarding data for IoT applications.
Named Space Advance Network Technology (SpaceANT), it will receive data from sensors on the ground and transmit it back to the ground station.
From the ground station, data will be sent to the cloud for easy data retrieval by users.
This mission resulted from the collaboration between USM, SpaceIn and the Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitters' Society (MARTS), marking a significant achievement in the country's efforts to achieve Malaysia Space Exploration 2030.
The satellite launch also demonstrated USM and SpaceIn's commitment to developing local talent, promoting innovation and advancing the space industry in Malaysia.
Dr Norilmi Amilia Ismail, chief executive officer of SpaceIn, expressed her excitement over this historic event.
"SpaceIn aspires to lead space exploration activities in Malaysia.
"We believe that cost reduction through small satellites will provide more opportunities for everyone to use space technology to solve various industrial and life challenges," she said.
"Among the focus industries for using SpaceANT satellites are agriculture, forestry and oil and gas," she added.
SpaceIn is one of the winners of the SUPERB accelerator program offered by TERAJU, a strategic Bumiputera affirmative action agency established in 2011 under the Prime Minister's Department.
The grant won has been used to develop SpaceANT-D.
SpaceIn also received funding from CRADLE to develop a satellite data centre at USM.