Turkiye’s mini satellite Grizu-263A launched into space

By Dilara Zengin

CAPE CANAVERAL (AA) - Turkiye's first mini satellite, Grizu-263A, designed by the Grizu-263 Space Team, was launched into space Thursday on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The successful launch took place in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Established in 2016 by the Engineering Faculty of Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University students in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, Grizu-263 aims to work on space and satellite technologies and participate in international competitions.

The team was named after a firedamp explosion that killed 263 miners in the Kozlu district in 1992. The Turkish word for firedamp is grizu.

The satellite is designed to operate in a low earth orbit of roughly 525 kilometers for four years and eight months.