This Tuesday, JAXA officially notified Universidad del Valle that all tests conducted in September in Edinburg, Scotland were successful. This means that it is “all systems go” for starting the final process that will culminate in the historic launch of the pioneering Guatemalan satellite into orbit.

Delivery Ceremony

The delivery ceremony was held in a university auditorium, where, for the first time, the satellite was exposed to the public in a vacuum-sealed glass box. The co-director of the project, Luis Zea, mentioned in a video that this project will “change the history” of the country, planting the seed for future generations. Most of the participants in the development of the satellite were young students. Over 100 individuals were involved in the project, with the greatest representation from Mechatronic and Industrial Engineering students, along with students from Computation, Electronics, Physics, Communication, and Letters.

The Satellite and the Lake

Quetzal 1 is a CubeSat-type satellite, measuring 10 cm on each edge, incorporating functionalities similar to its much larger counterparts, but highly optimized for weight and volume. It has a special mission: to verify from space the chlorophyll of the cyanobacteria that inhabits Lake Atitlán, which is located 114 kilometers from Guatemala City and is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Universidad del Valle Rector, Roberto Moreno Godoy, explained to the EFE agency that at project inception, a central theme was to accomplish something in the “national interest,” thus deciding to focus on the “protection of watersheds.”

Co-director of Quetzal 1, Victor Hugo Ayerdi, noted that the compact size of the satellite posed challenges, and some trade-offs had to be made. The intention was to “test the satellite sensor, which will also analyze the water bodies of the country that the satellite manages to catch.” The Quetzal 1 had a delivered cost of $260,000 and integrates a monochromatic camera, an engine that rotates filters in front of the camera, a carousel of filters for each of the four required wavelengths, and an optical filter. The satellite comprises more than 1200 components and was first planned in 2014, winning the Kibocube contest, as described by Ayerdi.

The Satellite Trip

Ayerdi himself will travel in the first week of December with the satellite to Japan to make the delivery to JAXA. He will carry it in a foam-covered, antistatic handbag inside an acrylic box. Later in December, JAXA will place the cube inside a transporter capsule—accommodating up to three satellites—for transport to Cape Cañaveral, Florida.

The launch is scheduled for March 1 on the Dragon rocket, bound for the International Space Station, where it will also deliver supplies to the Japan module. Once at the station, in April or May, the Guatemalan satellite will be launched to its final orbital position.

Universidad del Valle will analyze the data and share results with government authorities and other specialists interested in the conservation of the lake, such as the Friends of the Lake association.

International Collaboration

The project is an international effort developed with support from Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs, JAXA, the Guatemalan Telecommunications Superintendence, the Guatemalan Amateur Radio Club, the International Centre of Theoretical Physics, Wurzburgo University (Germany), and Astrosat (a UK company), among others.