30 years ago, 31 August 1995 year, a significant event took place in the history of the rocket and space industry of independent Ukraine - for the first time under the jurisdiction of Ukraine from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome with the help of the "Zyklon-3" launch vehicle (11K68) the first Ukrainian satellite "Sich-1" was launched into orbit.
The launch vehicle and spacecraft were developed by the "Pivdenne" Design Bureau and manufactured by the PMZ.
The spacecraft was launched into orbit over 600 km, mass of the device 1915 Kg.
IN 1993 the first National Space Program of Ukraine was developed and approved, which aimed to preserve the scientific and production potential of the space industry and provide conditions for Ukraine to enter the international market of space services. In this Program, considerable attention was paid to the further development and creation of methods and means of remote sensing of the Earth in the interests of science and the national economy. In order to increase the effectiveness and practical return of these studies in 1995 the first satellite under the jurisdiction of Ukraine "Sich-1" was launched, equipped with means of remote research of the Earth and the World Ocean.
The Sich-1 spacecraft was intended for remote sensing of the Earth (DZZ). With his help, there was an opportunity to study:
- plant condition, soil pollution, reservoir;
- soil moisture condition, snow cover and their limits;
is the state of the ionospheric plasma;
– distribution of electro-magnetic fields in the atmosphere;
- the study of electromagnetic radiation associated with the seismic activity of the Earth;
- research of physical and geological structures, etc.
The launch of this satellite into orbit marked the beginning of the creation of the Sich national space system in Ukraine. During the operation of the satellite, software and technology for solving a number of national economic tasks were developed (mapping of swamps and peatlands, determination of soil moisture zones and driving wind fields in the central part of cyclones, assessment of the state of winter crops in the autumn-spring period, control of the dynamics of spring floods, including extreme in 1996 r., ecological control of man-made pollution in Ukraine, etc.).
Source: https://space.com.ua