Clémentine (satellite)

This article is about the French satellite. For the American Lunar probe, see Clementine (spacecraft).

Clémentine (pronounced [klemɑ̃tin]) is a small satellite built by Alcatel Space (now Thales) for the French DGA, ostensibly "to study the Earth's radio-electrical environment from space."^[1]

Clémentine

Mission type	reconnaissance satellite
COSPAR ID	1999-064B
SATCAT no.	25978
Spacecraft properties
Bus	SSTL-70
Manufacturer	Alcatel Space · Surrey Satellite Technology
Launch mass	50 kg (110 lb)
Dimensions	0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 m (1.97 × 0.98 × 0.98 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	3 December 1999, 16:22 (1999-12-03UTC16:22) UTC
Rocket	Ariane 4 V-124
Launch site	Guiana Space Centre ELA-2
Contractor	Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Sun-synchronous
Eccentricity	0.0009381
Perigee altitude	573 km (356 mi)
Apogee altitude	586 km (364 mi)
Inclination	98.2500°
Mean motion	14.96 rev/day
Epoch	27 December 2016, 12:25:58 UTC

It is a successor to the Cerise satellite.^[2]