Nepal’s First-Ever Satellite Launched Into Space

Kathmandu: Nepal’s first satellite has been launched into space, which will soon start rotating around the Earths orbit to collect information about the country's topography and Earth’s magnetic field, officials said here on Thursday. The NepaliSat-1 was launched at 2.31 a.m. on Wednesday from the Virginia-based station of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the US, according to authorities at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).

The satellite, developed by two Nepalis — Abhas Maskey and Hariram Shrestha — at Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology, bears the Nepal flag and the NAST logo. Similar satellites from Japan and Sri Lanka were also launched alongside NepaliSat-1, reports The Kathmandu Post. According to the NAST, the satellite is equipped with a 5MP camera to capture Nepal’s topography and a magnetometer to collect data related to the Earth’s magnetic field. “The satellite will first reach the International Space Station. It will then start rotating around the earth after a month,” Suresh Kumar Dhungel, senior technical officer and NAST spokesperson, told The Kathmandu Post. Officials at NAST said that the satellite will allow them to learn the process of sending and receiving data and information to and from space. (IANS)

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