The Ukrainian satellite “Sich 2-30”, created in Dnipro and launched in early 2022, departed from orbit and completed its work. The celestrak catalog indicates the status of the device as D (decayed). The launch date is October 8, 2025.
“Sich 2-30” was an Earth remote sensing satellite developed by KB “Pivdenne” in cooperation with DP “Pivdmash”. It was launched on January 13, 2022 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-3 mission. It became the first Ukrainian satellite in orbit after more than a decade of hiatus.
The device was intended to photograph the Earth’s surface in the visible and infrared spectra, but had a relatively low resolution of about 7 meters. This made it possible to include the device in the European Copernicus program, which provides open access to satellite data, but only partially met Ukraine’s defense needs.
The history of the satellite’s creation was not easy. It was manufactured back in 2011 as a backup for the “Sich-2” device to work out possible technical scenarios. However, “Sich-2” ceased operation in 2013, and the new project “Sich-2-M” was frozen due to lack of funding. Then it was decided to modernize the backup and planned to launch it under the name “Sich-2-1” in 2017 from Brazil, but in the end this project was also postponed.
In 2021, the device received a new name – “Sich-2-30”. In February 2021, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Industries Oleg Urusky stated that “the satellite is in a state of full readiness.”
