Slovenia expects to launch Nanosatellite within 3 years

Image credit: SkyLab

Slovenian scientists are trying to improve the design and the making of a nanosatellite in a bid to have it launched into space in late 2016 or early 2017, Slovenian Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The nanosatellite, which weighs only four kilograms, is a 1 million-U.S.-dollar project by Slovenian firms including SkyLabs with the help of the Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FERI) experts and under the watch of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The team is now looking for sponsors aiming for the launch of the artificial satellite, which is to cost 300,000 euros (388,802 U.S. dollars).

The nanosatellite could be used to monitor vegetation, and to detect flooding and fires, Iztok Kramberger from the Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FERI) said.

NASA claim to have introduced Nanosatellite around 2004, and the term 'nanosatellite' refers to small artificial satellites with a mass between 1 and 10 kilograms.

The nanosatellite will be part of the payload of an Arianespace Ariane 5 or a Soyuz launcher, under the management and administrative control of ESA.