Apsara-1 Satellite

Technology demonstration CubeSat with multi-spectral camera for land
and water resource monitoring in Cambodia.

Apsara-1 is a 1U CubeSat designed by ITC and UTokyo students. The design comprises all subsystems required for a satellite to function in space, including the: Payload, Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), Electrical Power System (EPS), Command and Data Handling (C&DH) system, Telemetry Tracking and Command (TT&C) system, Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system, and Structure/Thermal system. In addition, the ITC is collaborating with the NPIC to design and build a ground station to operate Apsara-1 from Cambodia. 

The name- Apsara-1 - is derived from the Cambodian name for a female spirit of the clouds and waters: an “apsara”. This name is important: it symbolizes our commitment to providing leadership opportunities for both female and male members of this project, and it also acknowledges our mission objectives (more below).

Mission statement  

1. To develop the capability of solving socio-economic issues in Cambodia using space data and technology.
2. To promote STEM education in Cambodia by developing an advanced engineering system via collaboration between multiple stakeholders, and by disseminating acquired experiences.

Mission objectives   

1. To make contact with the satellite on orbit.
2. To take a picture of the Tonlé Sap lake, for outreach purposes.
3. To conduct land classification via multispectral imagery.