SciSat 1

SCISAT -1 is a Canadian Earth observation satellite, the Canadian Space Agency, launched on 12 August 2003 and will observe the Earth's atmosphere and explore the ozone hole over the Arctic.

SCISAT -1 is the first Canadian satellite for over 30 years.

The scientific director of the mission is Peter Bernath from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. The research satellite was developed and manufactured by the Canadian company Bristol Aerospace, ABB, EMS Technologies, Routes Astro Engineering and COM DEV. In addition, various companies from Canada and the world are involved.

The satellite was launched from a three-stage Pegasus XL into orbit. The Pegasus does not start from a launch pad like other missiles, but is dropped from a carrier aircraft Lockheed L- 1011. The launch was accompanied by NASA.

The satellite is designed to help better understand the chemical and dynamical processes in the atmosphere, especially the stratosphere and troposphere, in particular the depletion of ozone in the Arctic simplicity. It uses the satellite between 80 to 100 watts.

The main instruments of SciSat 1 are:

• ACE - FTS, an infrared spectrometer
• MAESTRO, is a spectrophotometer.