RatSat
Mass simulator on fourth Falcon 1 flight / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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RatSat[1]: 184 or DemoSat[3] was an aluminum mass simulator on the fourth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, launched on 28 September 2008. Ratsat[4] remained bolted to the second stage of the carrier rocket after reaching low Earth orbit.[5] It is an aluminium alloy chamber in hexagonal prism shape with 1.5 m (5 ft) length.[6]
Mission type | Launch demonstration |
---|---|
Operator | SpaceX |
COSPAR ID | 2008-048A |
SATCAT no. | 33393 |
Mission duration | 15 years, 6 months, 23 days (in orbit) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Launch mass | 165 kg (364 lb)[1] |
Dimensions | 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 28 September 2008, 23:15 (2008-09-28UTC23:15Z) UTC |
Rocket | Falcon 1 |
Launch site | Omelek Island |
Contractor | SpaceX |
Orbital parameters | |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 617 kilometers (383 mi)[2] |
Apogee altitude | 635 kilometers (395 mi)[2] |
Inclination | 9.35°[2] |
Period | 97.09 minutes[2] |
Epoch | 24 January 2015, 18:58:23 UTC[2] |
The Falcon 1 launch that carried Ratsat to orbit was the first successful orbital launch of any privately funded and developed, liquid-propellant carrier rocket, the SpaceX Falcon 1, something only six nations had successfully accomplished previously.[7]
The launch, identified as Falcon 1 Flight 4, was conducted by SpaceX, and also marked the first time the Falcon 1 rocket successfully achieved orbit, after three consecutive failures on the three previous launch attempts.[8]