L'Garde
Spacecraft · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
American manufacturer of spacecraft. L'Garde, Inc., USA
Related
Chronology
1 event
2000 January 27
03:03 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC8. LV Family: Minuteman. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1.- OCSE - .
Payload: Optical Calibration Sphere. Mass: 22 kg (48 lb). Nation: USA.
Agency: USAF SOR.
Manufacturer: L'Garde.
Class: Technology.
Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft: OCSE.
Decay Date: 2001-03-05 . USAF Sat Cat: 26062 . COSPAR: 2000-004B. Apogee: 711 km (442 mi). Perigee: 677 km (421 mi). Inclination: 100.22 deg. Period: 98.57 min.
Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment, a 3.5m diameter inflatable sphere built by L'Garde Inc. for calibrating the lasers at the AFRL Starfire Optical Range. The 0.48m long 0.41m diameter OCSE canister was ejected from the JAWSAT stack; 42 seconds later, with the canister clear of the other payloads, the canister door opened and 10 seconds after that inflation of the sphere began. The canister remains attached to the inflated sphere. Once inflated, the sphere's material becomes rigidized