View source for BelKA

{{short description|Failed Belarusian Earth satellite}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = BelKA
| image                 =
| image_caption         =
| mission_type          = [[Earth observation]]
| operator              = [[National Academy of Sciences of Belarus]]
| website               =
| mission_duration      = 5 years (planned)<br/>Failed to orbit
| spacecraft_bus        =
| manufacturer          =
| dry_mass              =
| launch_mass           = ~{{convert|750|kg|lb}}
| power                 =
| launch_date           = {{start-date|July 26, 2006}}
| launch_rocket         = [[Dnepr (rocket)|Dnepr]]
| launch_site           = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 109|109/95]]
| launch_contractor     =
| orbit_epoch           = Planned
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Low Earth Orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|510|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|510|km}}
| orbit_inclination     =
| orbit_period          =
| apsis                 = gee
}}
'''BelKA''' or '''BKA''' (an acronym from [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]: '''Бел'''арускі '''К'''асмічны '''А'''парат, '''Bel'''arusian '''C'''osmic '''A'''pparatus) is the first satellite of independent [[Belarus]].
==First attempt==
It was a [[remote sensing]] satellite that utilizes the [[USP (satellite bus)]], developed by Belarusian researchers and Russian Rocket and Space Corporation [[RSC Energia]] for National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus as the final customer of the satellite, which had the capacity to take photos of the Earth surface, with a maximum resolution of 2-2.5 meters.
BelKA was launched, along with seventeen other satellites, on July 26, 2006 at 19:43 [[GMT]], however 86 seconds later, the [[Dnepr (rocket)|Dnepr]] [[rocket]] suffered an engine failure and crashed, destroying the satellites.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14050740
|title=Russian rocket crashes after launch
|publisher=MSNBC
|date=2006-07-26
|access-date=2006-07-27
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821172931/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14050740/
|archive-date=2006-08-21
}}</ref>
The name BelKA is thought to be an allusion to the [[Soviet space dogs|Soviet space dog]], [[Belka and Strelka|Belka]], who, together with [[Belka and Strelka|Strelka]] orbited the Earth and returned safely on [[Sputnik 5]] in 1960.
* Configuration: Victoria bus
* Outcome: Carrier rocket failure, satellite destroyed
==Second attempt==
[[File:Беларускі касмічны апарат.jpg|thumb|Belarusian Space Apparatus]]
The second launch ({{ill|BKA (satellite)|lt=BKA|be|БКА (спадарожнік)}}) was successful. It was launched together with the Russian satellite {{ill|Canopus-B|ru|Канопус-В}} on the [[Soyuz-FG]]/[[Fregat]] launch vehicle from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] on July 22, 2012, after a long delay. Belarus put the blame for the delay onto British software.<ref>[https://webcitation.org/6AmGmb1SG?url=http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/economics/Zapusk-belorusskogo-i-rossijskogo-sputnikov-perenosilsja-iz-za-nedorabotki-programmnogo-obespechenija_i_579028.html Запуск белорусского и российского спутников переносился из-за недоработки программного обеспечения]</ref><ref>[https://webcitation.org/6AmGu2ie0?url=http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/society/Pervaja-informatsija-so-sputnika-postupila-v-belorusskij-TsUP_i_603386.html Первая информация со спутника поступила в белорусский ЦУП]</ref> It was planned to be operational until the end of 2021.<ref>[https://www.belarus.by/ru/press-center/speeches-and-interviews/belarus-i-kosmos-glava-akademii-nauk-o-novom-sputnike-eksperimentax-i-texnologijax_i_116284.html Беларусь и космос: глава Академии наук о новом спутнике, экспериментах и технологиях]</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
{{Orbital launches in 2006}}
{{Orbital launches in 2012}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Earth imaging satellites]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 2006]]
[[Category:Satellites of Belarus]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Dnepr rockets]]
[[Category:Satellite launch failures]]
[[Category:2006 in Belarus]]
[[Category:Space accidents and incidents in Kazakhstan]]