UrtheCast Corp. is pleased to announce that its Medium Resolution Camera (MRC) has passed its first Acceptance Test (AT-1), allowing for the MRC to be shipped from Rutherford Appleton Laboratories (RAL Space) in the United Kingdom to S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation (Energia) in Russia.
Representatives from UrtheCast, Energia, RAL Space, and MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) participated in the completion of the AT-1. This takes UrtheCast one-step closer to the November 2013 launch of UrtheCast’s cameras to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz Progress-M rocket. AT-1 is the culmination of months of testing, which included electrical and functional tests of the camera as well as full environmental testing (thermal vacuum, vibration and electro-magnetic compatibility).
“Completing the AT-1 on the MRC is one of the most important milestones UrtheCast has achieved to date. We couldn’t be more pleased with how the camera has been built by the teams at RAL and MDA,” explained UrtheCast’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, Dr. George Tyc. “We’re now looking forward to following the same procedure with the High Resolution Camera.”
“This is a significant achievement for both RAL Space’s and UrtheCast’s engineering teams. For two years, UrtheCast’s cameras have been constructed and tested in our laboratory, and it’s great to have seen the first UrtheCast camera through to completion. Our team has worked on many exciting programmes over the years, but UrtheCast is one of the more ambitious projects we’ve been a part of,” said Prof. Richard Holdaway, Director of RAL Space.
The second stage of the Acceptance Test process, AT-2, will commence soon after the MRC’s arrival in Russia.
More information can be found at UrtheCast
http://www.UrtheCast.com.
