RapidEye | Launch 2008

Launch 2008

August 29, 2008 was a great day in RapidEye's history. Our constellation of five satellites were successfully launched! On this page, you can relive the day by reading about everything related to our launch, or you can just browse through our photo gallery.

Watch and listen as Pietro Widmer, RapidEye's head of Operations and Engineering explains what happens at launch!
Download mp4: "The Launch Sequence of the RapidEye Satellites"

Launch Successful!

August 29, 2008 11:06 a.m. Local Brandenburg Time: We are delighted to announce the launch of our satellite constellation from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was a success! At 9:15 a.m. local time (CEST), a DNEPR-1 Rocket (a refurbished Russian ICBM) was launched with the RapidEye satellite constellation as cargo.

A countdown was done outside the RapidEye headquarters with the State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology Jochen Homann, Head Official of the Ministry of Economics Michael Richter, Mayor of Brandenburg/Havel Dr. Dietlind Tiemann, the RapidEye team and their families, and many interested citizens of Brandenburg. Rocket launch and separation of the fairing to release the satellites from the rocket was a success.

At 10:51 a.m. local time, first contact with the first satellite was achieved, with a contact from the second received five minutes later at 10:56.

At 12:45 p.m. local time, Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye announced to his launch party guests that contact from the last three satellites has been received.

For more information please read the full PRESS RELEASE in English / German / French / Portuguese / Spanish

RapidEye Satellites Named!

After the successful launch of the DNEPR-1 Rocket carrying RapidEye's satellite constellation on Friday, August 29th, RapidEye CEO Wolfgang Biedermann announced to the attendees at the public launch party the names that were chosen for the satellites, and congratulated the winners.

The winning names were all GREEK in origin, and were chosen from two different sources:

TACHYS - (Rapid); MATI - (Eye); CHOMA - (Earth); CHOROS - (Space); TROCHIA - (Orbit)

The winning names were selected by the RapidEye management team without them knowing the name of the person submitting the suggestions. Entirely by coincidence, the winners were Stephan Zinke and Kim Douglass, both part of the RapidEye team.

Photo Gallery:

Launch Photos from Kazakhstan! (Photo Source: MDA)

In Sequence: Photo 1 / Photo 2 / Photo 3 / Photo 4

RapidEye Launch Party Pictures! (Photo Sources: Harold Konstanski and RapidEye)

Dr. Dietrich Heine, Deputy Chairman of the RapidEye Supervisory Board welcomes our guests

Dr. Dietlind Tiemann, Mayor of Brandenburg an der Havel and Wolfgang Biedermann

Jochen Homann, State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology

Michael Richter, Head Official of the Ministry of Economics of the State of Brandenburg

Pietro Widmer, Head of Operations and Engineering, RapidEye AG starts the countdown

Wolfgang Biedermann of RapidEye and Prof. Dr. Peter Macke from Gollwitz Manor House Trust

Wolfgang Biedermann and Dr. Tiemann present the satellite names to the crowd

Bruce Stott, Vice President of Space Missions, McDonald Dettwiler Associates (MDA)