TechDemoSat-1

TechDemoSat-1 was a joint UKSA-ESA technology demonstration satellite mission launched in 2014.^[1][2] The satellite carried eight experimental payloads provided by UK space industry and academic institutions.^[3][4] Among the new technologies demonstrated by the satellite was GNSS reflectometry (by SSTL) using satellite navigation signals reflected from the sea surface for measuring sea ice cover, ocean surface wind, and sea state.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} The mission ended in 2019 after the satellite successfully deployed an experimentral de-orbit drag sail (by Cranfield University) designed to increase the spacecraft's rate of orbital decay.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

TechDemoSat-1

Mission type	Technology demonstration
Operator	UKSA, ESA
COSPAR ID	2014-037H
Spacecraft properties
Bus	SSTL-150
Manufacturer	Surrey Satellite Technology
Launch mass	157 kg
Dimensions	77 cm x 50 cm x 90 cm
Start of mission
Launch date	8 July 2014, 15:58:28 UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-2-1b Fregat
Launch site	Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31
End of mission
Declared	31 May 2019
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Sun-synchronous near-circular
Altitude	625 km
Inclination	98.36 deg
Period	97 minutes

See also

• List of European Space Agency programmes and missions
• HydroGNSS
• CYGNSS
• LUCID