SYDNEY, 19 April (BelTA - Xinhua) - Three Australian satellites have been launched successfully on Wednesday, heading to the International Space Station (ISS) where they will be deployed to study the Earth's thermosphere.
The three satellites were launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in the United States overnight, and are part of a wider 28-satellite strong international mission to investigate a part of the earth's atmosphere.
The mission is a milestone for Australia, and marks the first satellite put into space by the country in over 15 years, with only one other currently in space that was launched in 1967. Director of ACSER Professor Andrew Dempster said the historical significance of the launch was not lost on the scientists.
The three satellites will be deployed by the ISS in two parts, with the SuSat and INSPIRE-2 launching in May, while the UNSW-EC0 casting off from the ISS on June 17 to begin its trip to the earth's thermosphere.
The thermosphere is a layer of the earth's atmosphere that sits below the exosphere, and above the mesosphere, and is located from around 90 km high, to all the way to roughly 500 to 1000 km above the planet.
