Goliat
| Company type | Nanosatellite |
|---|---|
| Industry | Spacecraft, Satellite technology |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Romanian Space Agency (ROSA), university students |
| Headquarters | Romania |
| Products | CubeSat satellite for scientific research |
Goliat holds the distinction of being Romania's inaugural artificial satellite.
Description
This nanosatellite, weighing 1 kilogram and shaped as a cube with 10 cm edges, was engineered by the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) utilizing the CubeSat framework. The project originated with university students who spearheaded its development. Goliat's scientific agenda comprised three key goals: assessing micrometeorite flux, tracking cosmic radiation within Low Earth orbit, and obtaining images of Earth's surface using a 3-megapixel camera.
The initiative received financial backing and assistance from both the Romanian Ministry of Education and the European Space Agency.
Launch
Although initially planned for launch in 2008, Goliat's deployment was postponed due to complications involving the Vega launch vehicle. Eventually, it was successfully launched on 13 February 2012 from the Guiana Space Centre, accompanied by LARES (satellite) and several other European CubeSats.
Following launch, the satellite experienced a failure in its stabilization mechanism that caused it to spin uncontrollably. While brief communication was established on 18 February 2012 to retrieve limited telemetry data, full operational control was never attained, and contact was lost soon thereafter. Goliat re-entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up on 2 January 2015.