Croatia’s CroCube Satellite Registered with United Nations

The news in Croatian

1. satelit  (m.)
   Svemirski objekt koji kruži oko Zemlje ili drugog nebeskog tijela. ↩︎
2. lansirati
   Poslati raketu ili svemirski objekt u svemir ili zrak. ↩︎
3. raketa  (f.)
   Vozilo koje se pokreće mlaznim pogonom i koristi se za svemirska putovanja. ↩︎
4. visina  (f.)
   Mjera udaljenosti od površine Zemlje prema gore. ↩︎
5. registrirati
   Službeno upisati ili zabilježiti nešto u službeni popis ili evidenciju. ↩︎
6. svemirski
   Koji se odnosi na svemir, prostor izvan Zemljine atmosfere. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What rocket was used to launch the CroCube satellite?

Question 2: At approximately what altitude does CroCube orbit the Earth?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
satelit  (m.)	satellite
lansirati	to launch
raketa  (f.)	rocket
visina  (f.)	height
registrirati	to register
svemirski	space

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Croatia has reached a new milestone in its space programme after CroCube, the country’s first satellite, was officially entered into the United Nations Registry of Objects Launched into Outer Space. The registration means Croatia now has its first officially recognised space object.

“For the CroCube team, this is an important conclusion of the international registration process and yet another major milestone for the Croatian space programme,” the team announced on social media.

CroCube was launched on 21 December 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into an orbit inclined at 45°. Since then it has maintained a stable trajectory around Earth at an altitude of approximately 470 kilometres. During its nearly two-year mission, the small satellite is conducting various experiments, testing equipment, and photographing the planet. It occasionally passes over Croatia and sends back photographs of particular interest to people there.

The UN registration is not the mission’s first significant achievement. In 2025, CroCube won the international Small Satellites of the Year – Rookie of the Year 2025 award, presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).