Turkey'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 Bülent 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.
