VesselSat-2

VesselSat-2 (aka Orbcomm FM43, V2) was a Luxembourgian microsatellite built and owned by LuxSpace, and operated by Orbcomm under lease. It carried a receiver for Automatic Identification System signals, used to track ships at sea. VesselSat-2 was the second of two VesselSat spacecraft (see VesselSat-1), which were built by LuxSpace for Orbcomm, as replacements for the AIS capabilities of the failed Orbcomm-QL spacecraft.^[1]

VesselSat-2

Mission type	Ship tracking
Operator	LuxSpace (lessor) Orbcomm (operator)
COSPAR ID	2012-001B
SATCAT no.	38047
Mission duration	Planned: 3 years Achieved: 4 years
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	LuxSpace
Launch mass	29 kilograms (64 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	9 January 2012, 03:17 (2012-01-09UTC03:17Z) UTC
Rocket	Chang Zheng 4B Y26
Launch site	Taiyuan LC-9
End of mission
Last contact	January 2016 (2016-02)[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	472 kilometres (293 mi)
Apogee altitude	484 kilometres (301 mi)
Inclination	97.43 degrees
Period	94.02 minutes
Epoch	31 October 2013, 18:34:19 UTC[2]

VesselSat-2 was launched as a secondary payload on a Long March 4B carrier rocket which was carrying Ziyuan 3. The launch occurred at 03:17 UTC on 9 January 2012,^[3] from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, and was the first orbital launch of the year.^[4]