File:Thor_Delta-1A_small.gif
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Summary
DescriptionThor Delta-1A small.gif |
English: The Thor-Delta rocket system became known as the TD satellites. TD-1A was successfully launched on 11 March 1972 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (12 March in Europe). It was put in a nearly circular polar sun-synchronous orbit, with apogee 545 km, perogee 533 km, and inclination 97.6 degrees. It was Europe's first 3-axis stabilized satellite, with one axis pointing to the Sun to within +/- 5 degrees. The optical axis was maintained perpendicular to the solar pointing axis and to the orbital plane. It scanned the entire celestial sphere every 6 months, with a great circle being scanned every satellite revolution. After about 2 months of operation, both of the satellite's tape recorders failed. A network of ground stations was put together so that real-time telemetry from the satellite was recorded for about 60% of the time. After 6 months in orbit, the satellite entered a period of regular eclipses as the satellite passed behind the Earth -- cutting off sunlight to the solar panels. The satellite was put into hibernation for 4 months, until the eclipse period passed, after which systems were turned back on and another 6 months of observations were made. TD-1A was primarily a UV mission however it carried both a cosmic X-ray and a gamma-ray detector. |
Date | |
Source | NASA's Imagine the Universe! Goddard Spaceflight Center, TD-1A |
Author | Dr. Alan Smale (Director), within the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The Imagine Team Project Leader: Dr. Jim Lochner Curator:Meredith Gibb Responsible NASA Official:Phil Newman |
Permission (Reusing this file) |
Images produced by NASA are usually free of copyright [...] |
The X-ray detector was a 100 cm2 proportional counter covering the energy range 3-30 keV. When switched on, the experiment caused abnormal readouts in the satellite's telemetry. Alas, it was switched off and remained that way.
Licensing
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This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
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18 October 2007
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 02:28, 21 September 2009 | 351 × 216 (44 KB) | Marshallsumter | {{Information |Description={{en|1=The Thor-Delta rocket system became known as the TD satellites. TD-1A was successfully launched on 11 March 1972 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (12 March in Europe). It was put in a nearly circular polar sun-synchronous o |
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