Portuguese satellite will be launched today in space - TVI24

telecommunications satellite “Alphasat ‘with part of the’ hardware ‘developed by Portuguese company Efacec will be launched this Thursday in space by the European Space Agency (ESA), the company said in a statement sent to Lusa.

The new release will put the satellite “Alphasat» in geostationary orbit, ie an orbit the equatorial plane land conducive to the location of communications satellites, as their orbital periods are equal to the rotation period of the Earth ( 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.09 sec), known as the sidereal day.

The technology integrated on the satellite consists of a radiation monitor that measures the energy of electrons and protons emitted by the sun, and a system notes that the effect of space radiation on various devices.

The launch of Alphasat, with place on the basis of ESA Kourou (French Guiana), will begin around 19:50, an hour from Lisbon, and may be followed directly on the websites of the ESA and Arianespace.