The bureau also explained that "during the first important sessions, it was not possible to establish a stable connection with the Ukrainian satellite due to lack of energy"
KYIV, January 27. /tass/. Communication with the Ukrainian satellite Sich-2-30, launched on January 13 with the help of an American launch vehicle, has been established, but is periodically interrupted. This was stated by the chief designer and head of the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, the manufacturer of the satellite, Konstantin Belousov, commenting on the information that appeared in the media about the loss of communication with the satellite.
"There is a connection, but it is periodic due to a shortage of energy. At the same time, there are no failures of on-board equipment. Under the current conditions, it functions normally," the newspaper "Segodnya" quoted him as saying on Thursday.
The Yuzhnoye Design Bureau also explained that "during the first important sessions, it was not possible to establish a stable connection with the Ukrainian satellite due to lack of energy." Stable communication, the bureau said, was prevented by a number of external factors. "As the engineers explain, Sich-2-30 turned to the Sun so that only the reflection of light from the Earth gets on its working surfaces. At the same time, direct solar radiation either does not fall at all, or falls at too small an angle, which is why the satellite had to reboot offline," the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau noted.
The Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome (Florida) on January 13. SpaceX has delivered a total of 105 spacecraft from 20 countries into orbit. Among them is the Ukrainian satellite for remote sensing of the earth "Sich 2-30 (2-1)", whose service life is three years. The main manufacturer of the satellite is Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, the contract amount for the launch of Sich 2-30 (2-1) by a SpaceX launch vehicle was $1.99 million.
Commenting on the launch, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his telegram channel recalled that Ukraine had launched its satellite into space for the first time in the last ten years. On the day of the launch of the Ukrainian satellite, Zelensky said that a connection had been established with him. However, later, a former employee of the State Space Agency, Andrei Kolesnik, said that 55 of the 105 mission vehicles were identified, but there was no Ukrainian among them.