Launch of “100% Tunisian” satellite

“Space was a dream”, says, smiling, the CEO of Telnet, Mohamed Frikha. On March 20, he will attend the launching of the first Tunisian satellite, Challenge One. This nanosatellite manufactured entirely with Tunisian skills, without subsidies, will be launched from the Russian base in Baikonur, in a Soyuz-2 rocket. Specializing in the Internet of Things, the satellite will be sent into a low orbit 550 km from Earth, which it will circle around in 1 hour 30 minutes (8 km / s).

Installed in offices in a chic district of Tunis, with walls decorated with a photograph of the space, Mohamed Frikha sees “A recognition towards the generation of independence which invested in education to reach this technological level, and a hope for the youth”.

Its young engineers have also innovated by adapting the LoRa radio telecommunications protocol to satellite, allowing low-speed terrestrial communication of connected objects. “A world first”, according to the CEO. “Aerospace dedicated to the Internet of Things is a new field and we took the train from the first car”, welcomes Anis Youssef, innovation director at Telnet, specifying that Tunisian Mohamed Abid, NASA expert, has provided assistance.


Source: archyde.com