Mission type Earth observation | Rocket Dnepr | |
Operator National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Mission duration 5 years (planned)
Failed to orbit Launch mass ~750 kilograms (1,650 lb) Launch date July 26, 2006 (2006-07-26) | ||
BelKA (an acronym from Belarusian: Беларускі Касмічны Апарат, Belarusian Cosmic Apparatus) was intended to be the first satellite of independent Belarus.
Satellite
It was a remote sensing satellite that utilizes the Victoria universal satellite bus, developed by Belarusian researchers and Russian Rocket and Space Corporation Energiya for National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus as the final customer of the satellite, which had the capacity to take photos of the Earth surface, with a maximum resolution of 2-2.5 meters.
BelKA was launched, along with seventeen other satellites, on July 26, 2006 at 19:45 GMT, however 86 seconds later, the Dnepr rocket suffered an engine failure and crashed, destroying the satellites.
The name BelKA is thought to be an allusion to the dog, Belka, who, together with Strelka orbited the Earth and returned safely on Sputnik 5 in 1960.
Russian RKA Energiya