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Class: Earth. Type: Geodetic. Nation: France. Small French science and technology satellites used on early Diamant launch vehicle tests.
Specification
D Chronology
17 February 1966
Diapason Launch Site: Hammaguira . Launch Vehicle: Diamant. Mass: 19 kg. Perigee: 502 km. Apogee: 2,484 km. Inclination: 34.1 deg. Scientific satellite 'D-I' launched from Hammaguir (Algeria).
15 April 1971
Tournesol Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. Mass: 96 kg. Perigee: 457 km. Apogee: 696 km. Inclination: 46.3 deg.
05 December 1971
D-2A Polaire Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. FAILURE: Failure.
06 December 1971
D-2A Polaire Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. FAILURE: Second stage failed.
21 May 1973
Pollux Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. FAILURE: Failure.
17 May 1975
Pollux Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. Mass: 35 kg. Perigee: 299 km. Apogee: 1,256 km. Inclination: 30.0 deg. D5A: Weight 36 kg. Testing in space of a hydrazine catalytic decomposition micropropulsion unit. Responsible organization: Societe Europeene de Propulsion. D5B: Weight 76 kg. Testing in space of the CACTUS accelerometer (ultrasensitive triaxial capacitive accelerometric sensor). Responsible organization: ONERA, Chatillon-sous-Berneux, France.
27 September 1975
Aura Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Diamant B. Mass: 115 kg. Perigee: 476 km. Apogee: 697 km. Inclination: 37.1 deg. Solar UV radiation experiments. Study of solar and stellar ultraviolet radiation. 1. Spectral analysis of small and large sources located close to the plane of the ecliptic. Responsible organization: Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, Traverse du Siphon, 13000- Marseille (France). 2. St udy of solar ultraviolet radiation and its absorption by the earth's atmosphere. Responsible organization: Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planetaire, Meudon, France. Weight 106.6 kg.
Bibliography:- 2 - McDowell, Jonathan, The United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Harvard University, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/un/un.html
- 6 - JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html
- 279 - McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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© Mark Wade, 2001 .