GOLIAT, was launched by space rocket Vega, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), during its first flight to space.
According to AFP, European space rocket Vega lifted off from a spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana). During its 81-minutes mission, Vega will put into orbit nine nanosatellites, including GOLIAT, said AFP.
GOLIAT’s launch was broadcast live on the ESA’s website.
Vega may carry a payload of 1.5 tons into polar orbit (a 700-km altitude). It is 30 meters high and weighs 137 tons.
GOLIAT is a 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm cube and weighs 1 kg. Its purpose is taking high-resolution photos, measuring radiation and the flow of micrometeorites, and transferring this data to ground stations in Romania for scientific analysis. A secondary objective is testing its subsystems for further development in other missions.
The satellite was designed and built by ROSA in collaboration with the Institute for Space Science, between 2005 and 2009.
Romania is a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since last year.