Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian satellite Balkan-1 has been launched into space from base in USA

The satellite is a development of the Bulgarian company EnduroSat

Photo: БТА

The Bulgarian satellite Balkan-1 has been launched into Earth orbit to transmit data for the EU's Copernicus programme. The satellite is a development of the Bulgarian company EnduroSat and was launched into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, California, onboard a SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. 

The mission was monitored online at the Naval Postgraduate School Planetarium in Varna. 

The satellite is part of the EU's major space programme, which aims to explore various features of the Earth. It can monitor maritime areas and ships, provide disaster relief, land mapping, coastal monitoring and strategic infrastructure. 

On board the satellite there is a multispectral sensor detecting the content of various chemicals and elements in water and soil, monitoring their quality, analyzing the level of various pollutants and microplastic content. 

This is the first all-Bulgarian satellite with a scientific and security function, Lyubomir Toshev from the Bulgarian company explained to BTA. So far, the company has launched dozens of other satellites, but they have commercial purposes. 
"Balkan-1 is a 32 kg nanosatellite and its sensor has a resolution whose pixel corresponds to 1.5 meters of the Earth's surface. It orbits 500 km above the Earth. It has a planned lifetime of five years, after which it is intended to burn up in the stratosphere to avoid creating space debris, Toshev added.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

A white fairy tale from Burgas!
Photo: Marina Kirova in the Facebook group

Frosty weather, subzero temperatures expected in almost all regions of Bulgaria on Thursday

On Thursday, the minimum temperatures in Bulgaria will be between minus 14 °C and minus 8°C. In Sofia, it will be around minus 12°C. The day will be sunny but frosty. The thermometer values ​​in most places will be negative. Before noon, there will be..

published on 2/19/25 7:05 PM

Bulgaria honors the memory of national hero Vasil Levski

With various events throughout the country Bulgarians are marking 152 years after the death of the Apostle of Bulgarian Freedom Vasil Levski. Today, at 6:00 p.m. a memorial ceremony in front of the monument to the Apostle of Freedom in Sofia takes..

published on 2/19/25 6:08 PM
Dimitar Radev

Request for extraordinary report on readiness for eurozone membership will be signed

BNB Governor Dimitar Radev will sign the request for an extraordinary convergence report on the fulfillment of the criteria for eurozone membership. This is clear from his response in an interview with BTA, in which Radev announced that the Central..

published on 2/19/25 5:33 PM