Geosat
Spacecraft · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Credit: Manufacturer Image
American Navy satellite designed to measure sea surface heights to within 5 cm. Altimetry satellite built by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for US Navy, USA. Launched 1985.
After a one-and-a-half year long classified mission for the Navy, Geosat's scientific Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) began on November 8, 1986. When the ERM ended in January 1990 (due to failures of both on-board tape recorders), more than three years of precise altimeter data were available to the scientific community. Spacecraft: Gravity gradient stabilized. Two tape recorders. Payload: Radar altimeter to measure sea surface height.
More at: Geosat.
Related
- Family
- Earth, Radar altimeter, Medium earth orbit
- Country
- USA
- Launch Vehicles
- Atlas, Atlas E, Atlas E/OIS
- Launch Sites
- Vandenberg, Vandenberg SLC3W
Chronology
1 event
1985 March 13
02:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3W. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas E/OIS.- Geosat - . Mass: 635 kg (1,399 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USN. Class: Earth. Type: Civilian Radarsat. Spacecraft: Geosat. USAF Sat Cat: 15595 . COSPAR: 1985-021A. Apogee: 779 km (484 mi). Perigee: 775 km (481 mi). Inclination: 108.10 deg. Period: 100.40 min. Ocean sea height mapping. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C)..