| astronautix.com | Chronology - 2000 - Quarter 1 |
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- 2000 Jan 21 - - 01:03 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC36A. Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. LV Configuration: Atlas IIA s/n AC-138.
Part of the US Air Force Defense Satellite Communications System. To be stationed in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific Ocean.
- 2000 Jan 25 - - 01:04 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA2. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 42L. LV Configuration: Ariane 42L s/n V126.
Geosynchronous satellite launched to supplement Panamsat's Galaxy cable TV distribution constellation. It carried Ku and C band transponders and was to be stationed at 127 deg W. A replacement for Galaxy 10, lost on the first Delta 3 launch failure. Stationed at 123 deg W.
- 2000 Jan 25 - - 16:45 GMT. Nation: China. Launch Site: Xichang . Launch Complex: LC2. Launch Vehicle: CZ-3A. LV Configuration: CZ-3A s/n CZ3A-4.
Chinese indigenous geosynchronous communications satellite. Probably an update of the DFH-3 design. Stationed at 98 deg E.
- 2000 Jan 27 - - 03:03 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur.
Arizona State University satellite with an Earth imager and an amateur radio transponder.
USAF Academy satellite, carried the CHAWS-LD (Charging Hazards and Wake Studies-Long Duration) experiment to measure spacecraft charging effects in LEO.
Three picosatellites (JAK, Thelma, and Louise), developed by the Artemis team of women undergraduates at Santa Clara University, were deployed from the OPAL satellite. . JAK is the initials of the infant son of the Artemis' team's advisor Mass 0.2 kg; size around 0.1 - 0.2m. Carried a VLF wave experiment. Ejected from OPAL on February 11; unfortunately no data was received thereafter.
Joint USAF Academy/Weber State Satellite. Payloads included a plasma experiment, a particle detector, and a technology test.
Three picosatellites (JAK, Thelma, and Louise), developed by the Artemis team of women undergraduates at Santa Clara University, were deployed from the OPAL satellite. Mass 0.5 kg; size around 0.1-0.2m. Carried a VLF wave experiment. Ejected from OPAL on February 12; unfortunately no data was received thereafter.
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
Stanford University Orbiting Picosat Automated Launcher. Carried an acclerometer, a magnetometer, and six small picosatellites - Picosat 1 and 2, Stensat, and the Artemis triplets (JAK, Thelma, and Louise). The first two were deployed on February 7 at 0334:16 GMT. OPAL transmitter problems delayed the initial release.
Deployed by the OPAL satellite on February 7 at 0334:16 GMT. Picosat 1 and 2 were each 0.25 kg DARPA/Aerospace Corp. MEMS (Micro Electro-mechanical Systems) picosatellites, each carrying intersatellite communications experiment and connected by a 30-m tether.
Deployed by the OPAL satellite on February 7 at 0334:16 GMT. Picosat 1 and 2 were each 0.25 kg DARPA/Aerospace Corp. MEMS (Micro Electro-mechanical Systems) picosatellites, each carrying intersatellite communications experiment and connected by a 30-m tether.
Picosat. Built by built by the AMSAT-NA (Amateur Satellite, North America) group, and carried an amateur radio transponder. Ejected from OPAL on February 11; unfortunately no data was received thereafter.
Three picosatellites (JAK, Thelma, and Louise), developed by the Artemis team of women undergraduates at Santa Clara University, were deployed from the OPAL satellite. Mass 0.5 kg; size around 0.1-0.2m. Carried a VLF wave experiment. Ejected from OPAL on February 12; unfortunately no data was received thereafter.
- 2000 Feb 1 - - 06:47 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. LV Configuration: Soyuz 11A511U s/n A15000-669.
Progress M1 is a modification of the Progress M for the International Space Station. The first such spacecraft was diverted to raise the orbit of Mir. It docked with the unoccupied Mir space station on February 3 at 0802:20 GMT. Burns of its motor to raise Mir's orbit began on February 5 and continued through February 9. Progress M1-1 undocked at 16:33 GMT on April 26 to clear the docking port for Progress M1-2. It was deorbited over the Pacific at 19:27 GMT the same day.
- 2000 Feb 3 - - 09:26 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC45L. Launch Vehicle: Zenit-2. LV Configuration: Zenit-2 s/n 45025801.
ELINT satellite.
- 2000 Feb 3 - - 23:39 GMT. Nation: Spain. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC36B. Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. LV Configuration: Atlas IIAS s/n AC-158.
Spanish domestic geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 30 deg W.
- 2000 Feb 8 - - 23:20 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC31. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U / Fregat. LV Configuration: Soyuz 11A511U s/n A15000-079 ST07.
- 2000 Feb 8 - - 21:24 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC17B. Launch Vehicle: Delta 7925. LV Configuration: Delta 7420-10C s/n D276.
These four Globalstar satellites completed the Globalstar initial constellation.
- 2000 Feb 8 - - 23:20 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U / Fregat. LV Configuration: Soyuz 11A511U s/n A15000-079 ST07.
- 2000 Feb 10 - - 01:30 GMT. Nation: Japan. Launch Site: Kagoshima . Launch Complex: M-V. Launch Vehicle: M-V. LV Configuration: M-V s/n 4. FAILURE: First stage failure. An anomalous vibration was detected 25 seconds after launch. At 41 seconds ceramic heat shields in the first stage nozzle
broke and fell off, and thrust vector control on the nozzle was lost.
X-ray astronomy satellite. Stage 1 lost control, and separated with the rocket off-course at 75 seconds in the flight. Stage 2 burned correctly and separated at 218 seconds, followed by the third stage burn at 621 seconds. Last signals were received at 20 minutes after launch. ASTRO-E was to have separated from the third stage at 23 minutes, but ended in an orbit with a perigee of only 80 km and an apogee of 410 km. It probably reentered on the first orbit at around 0230 - 0300 GMT somewhere between East Africa and western China.
- 2000 Feb 11 - - 17:43 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: LC39A. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: STS-99.
On an extremely successful mission the space shuttle Endeavour deployed the 61 metre long STRM mast. This was a side-looking radar that digitally mapped with unprecedented accuracy the entire land surface of the Earth between latitudes 60 deg N and 54 deg S. Sponsors of the flight included the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), NASA, and the German and Italian space agencies. Some of the NIMA data would remain classified for exclusive use by the US Department of Defense. Additional Details: STS-99. References: 4 , 7 .
- 2000 Feb 12 - - 09:10 GMT. Nation: Indonesia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC81L. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / DM3. LV Configuration: Proton 8K82K / 11S861 s/n 399-02.
Geosynchronous communications satellite for the ACES consortium (PSN of Indonesia, PLDT of the Phillipines, Lockheed Martin, and Jasmine of Thailand). The satellite had two large 12-m diameter L-band antennae for cellular telephone relay. Stationed at 123 deg E.
- 2000 Feb 18 - - 01:04 GMT. Nation: Japan. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA2. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44LP. LV Configuration: Ariane 44LP s/n V127.
Provided geosynchronous communications services for the Space Communications Corporation of Japan. Carried 23 Ku-band and 6 Ka-band transponders, and was equipped with a Marquardt R4D apogee engine and XIPS ion propulsion stationkeeping system. Stationed at 162 deg E.
- 2000 Mar 12 - - 04:07 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / 11S861-01. LV Configuration: Proton 8K82K / 11S861 s/n 399-01.
GO Kosmicheskaya Svyaz geosynchronous communications satellite, to be assigned to the Ekspress 6A slot at 80E. Replaced the first Ekspress A, lost in a launch failure in 1999. Russian satellite bus with a ommunications payload from Alcatel France. Stationed at 80 deg E.
- 2000 Mar 12 - - 14:49 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Sea Launch . Launch Complex: Odyssey. Launch Vehicle: Zenit-3SL. FAILURE: Second stage shut down prematurely due to a valve software command mistake. The satellite fell in the South Pacific, south of Pitcairn Island.
First ICO Global Communications satellite. Lost due to launch vehicle failure; was to have entered a 10,300 km x 45 deg circular orbit. ICO's satellites would carry multiple spot beams for mobile communications.
- 2000 Mar 12 - - 09:29 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Complex: 576E. Launch Vehicle: Taurus. LV Configuration: Taurus 1110 s/n T5 1110.
Sandia Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI), aka USAF Space Test Program mission P97-3. The satellite was equipped with a hyperspectral imager for military target recognition / treaty monitoring applications.
- 2000 Mar 20 - - 18:28 GMT. Nation: Europe. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC31. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U / Fregat. LV Configuration: Soyuz 11A511U s/n ST08.
Mass model of a pair of Cluster II scientific satellites built by Aerospatiale Matra. Second test launch of the Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle.
- 2000 Mar 21 - - 23:28 GMT. Nation: Europe. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5.
Worldspace's second digital radio satellite. Joinef Afristar in orbit with a mission of providing radio broadcasting to the developing world. Stationed at 105 deg E.
Replaced the lost Insat 2D and carried a pure telecommunications payload of C, Ku and S band transponders. Stationed at 83 deg E.
- 2000 Mar 25 - - 20:34 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Complex: SLC2W. Launch Vehicle: Delta 7925. LV Configuration: Delta 7326-9.5 s/n D277.
Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration was a MIDEX (mid-sized Explorer mission) developed by NASA-Goddard and the SWRI (Southwest Research Institute) of San Antonio, Texas. The spin-stabilised spacecraft carried a set of neutral atom and ultraviolet imagers, and antennae to study radio wavelength emissions from the magnetosphere plasma. The RPI radio plasma imager has four long wire antennae which will be deployed to a span of half a kilometre.
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