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Handbook of Satellite Orbits pp 339–431Cite as

Orbit and Mission

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Abstract

Drawing on examples from actual cases, we show how each mission requires a specific orbit. We explore all types of diverse orbits.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    When we are referring to the satellite as LEO rather than the orbit, we understand of course that we mean a low-Earth orbiting satellite. One does occasionally find the term GEO meaning geosynchronous Earth orbit, as opposed to GSO for geostationary orbit. In addition, and somewhat unnecessarily, one finds the term IGSO meaning inclined geosynchronous orbit for geosynchronous orbits that are tilted and therefore not geostationary.

  2. 2.

    For Molniya-type orbits, the term THEO (12 h eccentric orbit) is sometimes used. For very high orbits, like the orbit of Geotail, we use the term VHO (very high orbit).

  3. 3.

    In fact, 418 satellites were launched, from OPS/3367 on 19 January 1964 to OPS/8424 on 17 April 1984.

  4. 4.

    The launch dates were as follows: Kosmos-1 (or Sputnik-11) on 16 March 1962, Kosmos-1001 on 4 April 1978, and Kosmos-2001 on 14 February 1989. The launch rate then subsided somewhat. We give here the last Kosmos launched in the given year: Kosmos-2054 (1989), Kosmos-2120 (1990), Kosmos-2174 (1991), Kosmos-2229 (1992), Kosmos-2267 (1993), Kosmos-2305 (1994), Kosmos-2325 (1995), Kosmos-2336 (1996), Kosmos-2348 (1997), Kosmos-2364 (1998), Kosmos-2368 (1999), Kosmos-2376 (2000), Kosmos-2386 (2001), Kosmos-2396 (2002), Kosmos-2404 (2003), Kosmos-2412 (2004), Kosmos-2417 (2005), Kosmos-2424 (2006), Kosmos-2436 (2007), Kosmos-2448 (2008), Kosmos-2458 (2009), Kosmos-2469 (2010), Kosmos-2478 (2011), Kosmos-2481 (2012). Since 2000, the Glonass satellites half made up half of the Kosmos series.

  5. 5.

    Note that, of the first 20 NOAA launches, 19 have been successful.

  6. 6.

    In the dramatic words of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Iran’s presence in space, with the aim of expanding monotheism, peace, and justice, has now been officially recorded in history.” Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Tehran, 3 February 2009.

  7. 7.

    Launch dates: CHAMP on 15 June 2000, GRACE-A and -B on 17 March 2002, and GOCE on 17 March 2009.

  8. 8.

    At this altitude, and for GOCE with mass 800 kg, the acceleration due to atmospheric friction is 1. 5 × 10−5 m s−2, whereas the acceleration due to radiation pressure is a mere 6. 1 × 10−8 m s−2. This can be compared with 6. 0 × 10−8 and 3. 7 × 10−8 for μSCOPE, a 120 kg satellite planned for circular orbit at an altitude of 700 km.

  9. 9.

    Launch dates: LAGEOS-1 on 4 May 1976, LAGEOS-2 on 23 October 1992 (by STS-52), LARES on 13 February 2012.

  10. 10.

    When it had accomplished its mission, the satellite was withdrawn from the point L 1 in June 1982. Using a lunar flyby as a gravity-assist maneuver, it was removed from the Earth’s gravitational attraction and sent into heliocentric orbit for the ICE mission (International Cometary Explorer), in an encounter with a comet (perihelion 0.93 a.u., aphelion 1.03 a.u., inclination 0. 1∘, period 355 day).

  11. 11.

    The satellite left the point L 1 in the Earthward direction, roughly in the plane of the lunar orbit, before moving into the petal orbit. In this configuration, the satellite moves alternately behind the Earth and the Moon. In this plane and in a frame moving with the Earth, the trajectory sketches out a daisy with the Earth at the center. The tips of the petals represent the different positions of the Moon in its rotation about the Earth. It has period 17.5 day and the radius of the ellipse is r p ≈ 6R to 10R, r a ≈ 80R (where the Earth–Moon distance is approximately 60R).

  12. 12.

    This satellite, the Polar Plasma Laboratory, is part of the GGS mission (Global Geospace Science) with Wind and Geotail, and this is itself just one component of the ISTP programme (International Solar Terrestrial Physics), which includes the European missions SOHO and Cluster and the Russian mission Interball.

  13. 13.

    These satellites, Rumba, Salsa, Samba, and Tango, fly a few hundred kilometers apart. They were launched in two stages, on 16 June and 19 August 2000, to avoid repetition of the disaster when Cluster was launched together on 4 June 1996.

  14. 14.

    DSP-1 (also called Tan Ce-1, meaning Explorer-1 in Chinese, or TC-1), a = 46, 148. 1 km, e = 0. 8494, i = 28. 5∘, launched on 29 December 2003. DSP-2 (Tan Ce-2 or TC-2), a = 26, 228. 1 km, e = 0. 7301, i = 90∘, launched on 26 July 2004.

  15. 15.

    Launch date 19 October 2008 and orbital characteristics h p = 1. 5R, h a = 47. 8R, a = 163, 000 km, e = 0. 9025, i = 10. 993∘, T = 183 h.

  16. 16.

    This is one of the Explorer missions. The satellites are also called Explorer-85, -86, -87, -88, and -89. In the MIDEX-5 framework, they are referred to as MIDEX-5A to -5E.

  17. 17.

    It was the idea of a clear and objective determination that led to the name of this mission, THEMIS, from the Greek goddess of justice ἡ Θέμις, ιτος, or Themis. She sits at the deliberations of gods and men and in each instance preserves the equity of their decisions.

  18. 18.

    For the satellites in Phase 1, the nodal precession rate is \(\dot{\varOmega }= 0.10\) round/year, the apsidal precession rate is \(\dot{\omega }= 0.20\) round/year.

  19. 19.

    Launch dates: UARS on 12 September 1991 (STS-48); TIMED on 7 December 2001 (with Jason-1 but in a different orbit); Rocsat-1 on 27 January 1999; Interkosmos-12 on 30 October 1974; Atmosphere-1 and -2 (DFH-31 and -32) on 3 September 1990; SAMPEX on 3 July 1992.

  20. 20.

    Launch dates: Nimbus-1 on 28 August 1964; Nimbus-2 on 15 May 1966, Nimbus-3 on 14 April 1969; Nimbus-4 on 8 April 1970; Nimbus-5 on 11 December 1972; Nimbus-6 on 12 June 1975; Nimbus-7 on 24 October 1978.

  21. 21.

    The three US satellites launched in 1959 had provided useful meteorological data. These were Vanguard-2, Explorer-6 (first photograph of the Earth), and Explorer-7 (first data concerning the Earth radiation budget). However, the first satellite devoted entirely to meteorology was TIROS-1.

  22. 22.

    Launch dates: TIROS-N on 13 October 1978; NOAA-6 on 27 June 1979; NOAA-7 on 23 June 1981; NOAA-8 on 28 March 1983; NOAA-9 on 12 December 1984; NOAA-10 on 17 December 1986; NOAA-11 on 24 September 1988; NOAA-12 on 14 May 1991; NOAA-13 on 9 August 1993, only operated for a few days; NOAA-14 on 30 December 1994; NOAA-15 on 13 May 1998; NOAA-16 on 21 September 2000; NOAA-17 on 24 June 2002; NOAA-18 on 20 May 2005; NOAA-19 on 6 February 2009.

  23. 23.

    Launch date: NPP on 28 October 2011. The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) was renamed National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP), and then, in January 2012, Suomi-NPP, after the American engineer Verner E. Suomi, considered to be the father of satellite meteorology (he built the first radiometer, aboard Explorer-7).

  24. 24.

    Launch dates: DMSP-5D2 F-8 (also called USA-26) on 20 June 1987; DMSP-5D2 F-9 (USA-29) on 3 February 1988; DMSP-5D2 F-10 (USA-68) on 1 December 1990; DMSP-5D2 F-11 (USA-73) on 28 November 1991; DMSP-5D2 F-12 (USA-106) on 29 August 1994; DMSP-5D2 F-13 (USA-109) on 24 March 1995; DMSP-5D2 F-14 (USA-131) on 4 April 1997; DMSP-5D3 F-15 (USA-147) on 12 December 1999; DMSP-5D3 F-16 (USA-172) on 18 October 2003; DMSP-5D3 F-17 (USA-191) on 4 November 2006; DMSP-5D3 F-18 (USA-210) on 18 October 2009. The DMSP series should contain two more satellites, F-19 (for 2014) and F-20 (for 2020). This should be followed by the first satellites of DWSS, viz., F-1 and F-2.

  25. 25.

    Launch dates: Meteor-3-01 on 24 October 1985; Meteor-3-03 on 26 July 1988; Meteor-3-04 on 25 October 1989; Meteor-3-05 on 24 April 1991; Meteor-3-06 on 15 August 1991; Meteor-3-07 on 25 January 1994; Meteor-M-1 on 17 September 2009.

  26. 26.

    Launch dates: FY-1A (DFH-24) on 6 September 1988; FY-1B (DFH-30) on 3 September 1990; FY-1C (DFH-46) on 10 May 1999; FY-1D (DFH-53) on 15 May 2002; FY-3A on 27 May 2008; FY-3B on 4 November 2010.

  27. 27.

    Launch dates: MetOp-A on 19 October 2006; MetOp-B on 17 September 2012. MetOp-C is planned for 2017. After 2020, the following series is planned: EPS-SG (European Polar Satellite—Second Generation), with the satellites EPS-SG-A and -B.

  28. 28.

    The Rocsat satellites (Republic of China Satellites) changed name in 2005 to become FormoSat, recalling the old name for the island of Taiwan, viz., Formosa or Ilha Formosa in Portugues.

  29. 29.

    Launch dates: SMS-1 on 17 May 1974; SMS-2 on 6 February 1975; GOES-1 (SMS-3) on 16 October 1975; GOES-2 on 16 June 1977; GOES-3 on 16 June 1978; GOES-4 on 9 September 1980; GOES-5 on 22 May 1981; GOES-6 on 28 April 1983; GOES-7 on 26 February 1987; GOES-8 on 13 April 1994; GOES-9 on 23 May 1995; GOES-10 on 25 April 1997; GOES-11 on 3 May 2000; GOES-12 on 23 July 2001; GOES-13 on 24 May 2006; GOES-14 on 27 June 2009; GOES-15 on 4 March 2010.

  30. 30.

    Launch dates: METEOSAT-1 on 23 November 1977; METEOSAT-2 on 19 June 1981; METEOSAT-3 on 15 June 1988; METEOSAT-4 on 6 March 1989; METEOSAT-5 on 2 March 1991; METEOSAT-6 on 20 November 1993; METEOSAT-7 on 2 September 1997; METEOSAT-8 (MGS-1) on 28 August 2002; METEOSAT-9 (MGS-2) on 21 December 2005; METEOSAT-10 (MGS-3) on 5 July 2012. The MSG satellites (METEOSAT Second Generation) are renamed METEOSAT when they become operational. The satellite MSG-4 is planned for 2014. The new series known as MTG (METEOSAT Third Generation) is the third generation of the METEOSAT programme, planned to run for 20 years from 2018. It differs significantly from the first two generations, since the satellites will no longer spin permanently about their axis at 100 rev/min, but will have three-axis stabilisation. This allows the possibility of atmospheric sounding. The MTG programme comprises six satellites weighing 3 tonnes each: four MTG-I (imagers) and two MTG-S (sounders).

  31. 31.

    Launch date: GOMS-1 on 31 October 1994. This series is also called Elektro and the satellite thus carries the names Elektro-1 or GOMS-Elektro-1 as well as GOMS-1.

  32. 32.

    Launch dates: INSAT-1A on 10 April 1982; INSAT-1B on 30 August 1983 (launched by STS-8); INSAT-1C on 21 July 1988; INSAT-1D on 12 June 1990; INSAT-2A on 10 July 1992; INSAT-2B on 23 July 1993; INSAT-2E on 3 April 1999; METSAT-1 (Kalpana-1) on 12 September 2002; INSAT-3A on 9 April 2003; INSAT-3E on 27 September 2003. The METSAT satellites are called Kalpana in homage to Kalpana Chawla, the Indian astronaut lost in the explosion of Columbia, STS-107, on 1 February 2003. The word kalpana means “imagination” in Sanskrit and is a female first name.

  33. 33.

    Launch dates: FY-2A (DFH-45) on 10 June 1997; FY-2B (DFH-49) on 25 June 2000; FY-2C on 19 October 2004; FY-2D on 8 December 2006; FY-2E on 23 December 2008.

  34. 34.

    Launch dates: GMS-1 on 14 July 1977; GMS-2 on 10 August 1981; GMS-3 on 2 August 1984; GMS-4 on 5 September 1989; GMS-5 on 18 March 1995; MTSAT-1R (Himawari-6) on 26 February 2005 (to replace MTSAT-1, destroyed at launch on 15 November 1999); MTSAT-2 (Himawari-7) on 18 February 2006.

  35. 35.

    Launch date: COMS-1 on 27 June 2010. COMS-1 is also called Chollian (from the Korean Chun-Li-An), which means “seen from a thousand li”, where the li is the Chinese and Korean unit of distance.

  36. 36.

    Launch dates: HCMM (AEM-1, Explorer-58) on 26 April 1978; TOMS-EP on 2 July 1996; Odin on 20 February 2001; QuikTOMS on 21 September 2001, failed; SAGE (AEM-2, Explorer-60) on 18 February 1979; SciSat-1 on 13 August 2003; AIM (SMEX-9, Explorer-90) on 25 April 2007.

  37. 37.

    Depending how fast one writes it! The NASA satellites QuikTOMS and QuikScat are spelt like this, whereas those of DigitalGlobe are written QuickBird.

  38. 38.

    Launch dates: ERBS on 5 October 1984 by STS-13 (STS-41-G); TRMM on 28 November 1997, see Example 7.2; SMOS on 2 November 2009; GOSat (Ibuki) on 23 January 2009; Megha-Tropiques on 12 October 2011.

  39. 39.

    Launch dates: ERTS-1 (Earth Resources Technology Satellite) on 23 July 1972, renamed Landsat-1 on 13 January 1975; Landsat-2 on 22 January 1975; Landsat-3 on 5 March 1978; Landsat-4 on 16 July 1982; Landsat-5 on 1 March 1985; Landsat-6 on 5 October 1993, launch failed; Landsat-7 on 15 April 1999; Terra (EOS-AM-1) on 18 December 1999; MTI on 12 March 2000; EO-1 and SAC-C on 21 November 2000; Aqua (EOS-PM-1) on 4 May 2002; CloudSat and Calipso on 28 April 2006; OCO on 24 February 2009, launch failed; Glory on 4 February 2011, launch failed; Landsat-8 on 11 February 2013.

  40. 40.

    These two satellites, also called ESSP-4 and ESSP-3, respectively, are part of NASA’s ESSP programme (Earth System Science Pathfinder), which also includes the two satellites, -A and -B, of the GRACE mission (ESSP-2), for geodesy, and VCL (Vegetation Canopy Lidar, ESSP-1, replaced by Glory), for environmental study. The satellites ESSP-5, -6, and -7 are also mentioned in this chapter. The US satellite ESSP-3 with French collaboration was originally called Picasso-Cena (Pathfinder Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol Spaceborne Observations—Climatologie étendue des nuages et des aérosols). However, the artist’s family refused to allow free use of the name and it was renamed Calipso (Cloud Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation), and not Calypso, doubtless to avoid legal proceedings with Homer’s descendants.

  41. 41.

    The French microsatellite Parasol (Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Science coupled with Observations from a Lidar) was launched as a passenger of Hélios-2A on 18 December 2004.

  42. 42.

    Launch dates: SPOT-1 on 22 February 1986; SPOT-2 on 11 January 1990; SPOT-3 on 26 September 1993; SPOT-4 on 24 March 1998; SPOT-5 on 4 May 2002. These satellites, designed for 3 years’ operation, actually did much better than that. For instance, SPOT-2 was still working when taken out of orbit after more than 19 years of service. SPOT-6 was launched on 9 September 2012; Pléiades-1A on 17 December 2011; Pléiades-1B on 2 December 2012.

  43. 43.

    In 1991, during the Gulf War (the operation known as Desert Storm), the US army used SPOT images, which were more practical with their 5 m resolution and 60 km panoramas than the much more detailed images procured by US intelligence satellites.

  44. 44.

    Launch dates: COSMO-SkyMed-1 on 8 June 2007; COSMO-SkyMed-2 on 9 December 2007; COSMO-SkyMed-3 on 25 October 2008; COSMO-SkyMed-4 on 5 November 2010.

  45. 45.

    Joint launch of RapidEye-1, -2, -3, -4, and -5 on 29 August 2008. The satellites RapidEye-1 to -5 were subsequently attributed the Greek names Tachys (fast), Mati (eye), Choma (soil, terracing), Choros (space), and Trochia (orbit), respectively. Apart from mati, which is only a modern Greek word, the other names are both ancient and modern. For the evolving meaning of trochia, from “wheel rut” to “orbit”, see the earlier note on the word orbita.

  46. 46.

    Launch dates: TerraSAR-X on 15 June 2007; TanDEM-X on 21 June 2010. The frequency bands for radar emission are traditionally denoted by letters: L (1– 2 GHz), S (2–4 GHz), C (4–8 GHz), X (8–12 GHz), Ku (12–18 GHz), K (18–26.6 GHz), Ka (26.5–40 GHz). The wavelengths \(\lambda = c/\nu\) (ν = frequency) corresponding to the centers of these bands are λ = 20 cm for band L and λ = 3 cm for band X. The choice of band depends on the phenomenon to be observed, and in particular the effect of the atmosphere on the emitted wave.

  47. 47.

    The first 39 are recorded as Kosmos, from Kosmos-1127 in 1979 to Kosmos-1990 in 1989. There were 20 more under the name of Resurs-F, from Resurs-F-1 (type F1) in 1989 to Resurs-F-20 (type F2) in 1995, followed by the modified version, Resurs-F1M-1 in 1997 and Resurs-F1M-2 in 1999 (type F1M).

  48. 48.

    Launch dates: Resurs-O1-1 (Kosmos-1689) on 3 October 1985; Resurs-O1-2 (Kosmos-1939) on 20 November 1988; Resurs-O1-3 on 4 November 1994; Resurs-O1-4 on 10 July 1998; Monitor-E on 26 August 2005; Resurs-DK-1 on 15 June 2006. The letters attached to the name Resurs are F for film, O for operational, and DK for Dmitry Kozlov, the father of the Yantar satellites.

  49. 49.

    Launch dates: Radarsat-1 on 4 November 1995; Radarsat-2 on 14 December 2007; ERS-1 on 17 July 1991; ERS-2 on 21 April 1995; Envisat on 1 March 2002.

  50. 50.

    The satellite ADM (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission), renamed ADM-Aeolus, carries a lidar for wind study. In a more distant future, the ESA has selected three missions: the Sun-synchronous satellites ACE+ (Atmosphere and Climate Explorer), to study climate change, EGPM (European contribution to the Global Precipitation Monitoring mission), designed to study rainfall, and the constellation of three SWARM satellites for dynamical measurement of the magnetic field and its interaction with atmospheric processes (circular orbit, i = 86. 8∘ for all three, but at different altitudes, viz., h = 450 km for SWARM-A and -B, and h = 530 km for SWARM-C).

  51. 51.

    The Sentinel families are classified as follows:

    • Sentinel-1, to develop a family of radar satellites to monitor the oceans and land masses, with Sentinel-1A, -1B, -1C.

    • Sentinel-2, equipped with high-resolution optics in multispectral mode, with Sentinel-2A, -2B, -2C.

    • Sentinel-3, equipped with medium resolution visible and IR optics and an altimetric radar, with Sentinel-3A, -3B, -3C. This mission is a direct descendant of the ERS, Envisat, T/P, and Jason missions.

    • Sentinel-4 and -5, designed for atmospheric analysis, in GEO orbit for -4, with Sentinel-4A and -4B, and in LEO orbit for -5.

  52. 52.

    Here are some examples of grouped launches where the main satellite is a large Sun-synchronous remote-sensing satellite. For the first three ERS-1, SPOT-3, and Hélios-2A, launched by Ariane, the passenger satellites were called ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payload). With ERS-1 (Europe): UoSAT-5 (or OSCAR-22) (GB), Orbcomm-X (USA), Tubsat-A (Germany), SARA (France). With SPOT-3 (France): Kitsat-2 (South Korea), PoSAT-1 (Portugal), Stella (France), HealthSat-2 (GB), ItamSat (Italy), EyeSat-1 (USA). With Hélios-2A (France): Parasol (France), Nanosat (Spain) and four French military satellites for electronic intelligence, Essaim-1 to 4. With Resurs-O1-4 (Russia): FaSat-1 (Chile), TMSat (Thailand), TechSat-1B (Israel), Westpac-1 (Australia), Safir-2 (Germany). With Meteor-3M-1 (Russia): Badr-B (Pakistan), Maroc-Tubsat (Morocco–Germany), Kompass and Reflektor (Russia). With Megha-Tropiques (India and France): VesselSat-1 (Luxembourg) and two Indian university satellites, SRMSAT and Jugnu.

  53. 53.

    Launch dates: IRS-1A on 17 March 1988; IRS-1B on 29 August 1991; IRS-1C on 28 December 1995; IRS-1D on 4 June 1997; IRS-1E on 20 September 1993 (before IRS-1C), failed; IRS-P2 on 15 October 1994; IRS-P3 on 21 March 1996; TES on 22 October 2001; Resourcesat-1 (IRS-P6) on 17 October 2003; Cartosat-1 (IRS-P5) on 5 May 2005; Cartosat-2 (IRS-P7) on 10 January 2007; Cartosat-2A on 28 April 2008; Cartosat-2B on 12 July 2010; RISat-2 on 20 April 2009; Resourcesat-2 on 20 April 2011; RISat-1 on 26 April 2012 (after RISat-2).

  54. 54.

    Launch dates: Tan Suo-1 (TS-1 or ExperimentalSat-1) on 18 April 2004; Tan Suo-2 (TS-2 or ExperimentalSat-2) on 18 November 2004; Tan Suo-3 (TS-3 ou ExperimentalSat-3) on 5 November 2008; Huan Jing-1A and -1B (HJ-1A and -1B, also called DFH-78 and -79) on 6 September 2008; Chuang Xin-1-02 (CX-1-02 or Innovation-1) on 5 November 2008; Yao Gan-1 (RSS-1 or JB5-1) on 26 April 2006; Yao Gan-2 (RSS-2 or JB6-1) on 25 May 2007; Yao Gan-3 (RSS-3 or JB5-2) on 11 November 2007; Yao Gan-4 (RSS-4 or JB6-2) on 1 December 2008; Yao Gan-5 (JB5-7) on 15 December 2008; Yao Gan-6 (JB8) on 22 April 2009; Yao Gan-7 (JB6-3) on 9 December 2009; Yao Gan-8 on 15 December 2009; Yao Gan-9A, -9B and -9C on 5 March 2010; Yao Gan-10 (JB5-3) on 9 August 2010; Yao Gan-11 (JB6-4) on 22 September 2010; Tian Hui-1 (TH-1, DFH-90) on 24 August 2010.

  55. 55.

    Launch dates: CBERS-1 (ZY-1A, Zi Yuan-1A) on 14 October 1999; CBERS-2 (ZY-1B, Zi Yuan-1B) on 21 October 2003; CBERS-2B on 18 September 2007; ZY-2 (Zi Yuan-2, DFH-50, Jian Bing-3, JB-3) on 1 September 2000; ZY-2B (Zi Yuan-2B, DFH-55, Jian Bing-3B, JB-3B) on 27 October 2002; ZY-2C (Zi Yuan-2C, Jian Bing-3C, JB-3C) on 6 November 2004. The satellites ZY-2 use a CBERS platform (recorded as ZY-1 by China).

  56. 56.

    Launch dates: JERS-1 on 11 February 1992; ADEOS-1 on 27 August 1996; ADEOS-2 on 14 December 2002; ALOS on 24 January 2006; GCOM-W1 on 18 May 2012.

  57. 57.

    Launch dates: ICESat on 13 January 2003; CryoSat on 8 October 2005, failed; CryoSat-2 on 8 April 2010.

  58. 58.

    Launch dates: AlSat-1 (Algeria) on 28 November 2002; BilSat-1 (Turkey), NigeriaSat-1 (Nigeria) and BNSCSat (or UK-DMC) (GB) launched together on 27 September 2003; Beijing-1 (China) on 25 October 2005; UK-DMC2 (GB) and Deimos-1 (Spain) on 25 July 2009; AlSat-2A (Algeria) on 12 July 2010 (launched with Cartosat-2B).

  59. 59.

    Rodrigo Triana was the first person among the sailors aboard Christopher Columbus’ caravels to see the New World, in 1492.

  60. 60.

    The project was supported by Al Gore while he was Vice President to Bill Clinton. However, when George W. Bush arrived on the scene, it was promptly shelved. And the attribution of the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to Al Gore and GIEC in 2007 was unable to give further impetus to this satellite project, sometimes referred to as GoreSat.

  61. 61.

    They share several common features. Their trade marks are constructed by sticking two words together without a space, and they often change name. These successive changes show up in the names of their satellites. The new European company set up jointly by EADS and private capital has followed this fashion, since it is called InfoTerra.

  62. 62.

    Launch dates: OrbView-1 (Microlab-1) on 3 April 1995 (launched with Orbcomm-FM-1 and -2, non-Sun-synchronous); EarlyBird/EarthWatch-1 on 24 December 1997; Ikonos-1 on 27 April 1999, failed; Ikonos-2 on 24 September 1999; OrbView-4 (before OrbView-3) on 21 September 2001, failed; QuickBird-1 on 20 November 2000, failed; QuickBird-2 on 18 October 2001; OrbView-3 on 26 June 2003; WorldView-1 on 18 September 2007; GeoEye-1 on 6 September 2008; WorldView-2 on 8 October 2009.

  63. 63.

    The resolution in panchromatic mode corresponds to black and white images, and in multispectral mode, to colour images, generally composed of blue, green, red, and near-infrared. The resolutions are indicated in the text by two lengths in meters: B&W resolution/colour resolution.

  64. 64.

    The satellite Ikonos-1, lost at launch, was soon replaced by Ikonos-2, launched only 5 months later and renamed Ikonos to exorcise the failure of the first launch. The Greek noun ὁ εἰκών,όνος means “image”. But why did they choose the genitive ikonos?

  65. 65.

    Launch dates: EROS-A1 on 5 December 2000; EROS-B on 25 April 2006; THEOS on 1 October 2008; DubaiSat-1 on 29 July 2009.

  66. 66.

    The satellite MACSat (Medium-sized Aperture Camera Satellite), launched on 4 July 2009, has been renamed Razaksat, after the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdul Razak, Bapa Pembangunam Malaysia, “the father of Malaysian development”.

  67. 67.

    These series have more or less officially certified code names, which become known after a certain time delay: Corona (KH-1 to -4), Argon (KH-5), Lanyard (KH-6), Gambit (KH-7, -8), Hexagon and Big Bird (KH-9), Dorian (KH-10, annul), Crystal Kennan (KH-11), Ikon and Improved Crystal (KH-12, also known as KH-11B). The name for the current series KH-13 is apparently Misty.

  68. 68.

    Resolutions given by the US Air Force, which runs the programme: Series KH-1 (begun in 1959) 12 m; KH-2 (1960) 9 m; KH-3 (1961) 7.6 m; KH-4A (1963) 2.7 m; KH-6 (1963) 1.8 m; KH-8 (1966) 0.5 m. For KH-11 (1976) and KH-12 (1992) 0.15 m with a similar telescope to Hubble. For KH-13 0.10 m, 8X 0.05 m.

  69. 69.

    Helios, ὁ ῞Ηλιος, ου, is the Sun, a (non-Olympian) god of Greek mythology. He journeys across the sky during the day on a chariot drawn by four horses. Thanks to his dominating position and his perceptive gaze, as piercing as a ray of light, he sees everything that happens on Earth. It was by reference to these features, and with little modesty, that the French military named their reconnaissance programme. While it was very important in archaic times, the cult of the Sun lost its influence in classical times, and Helios was often assimilated with Apollo.

  70. 70.

    Launch dates: Hélios-1A : 7 July 1995; Hélios-1B : 3 December 1999; Hélios-2A : 18 December 2004; Hélios-2B : 18 December 2009.

  71. 71.

    Launch dates: SAR-Lupe-1 on 19 December 2006; SAR-Lupe-2 on 2 July 2007; SAR-Lupe-3 on 1 November 2007; SAR-Lupe-4 on 27 March 2008; SAR-Lupe-5 on 22 July 2008.

  72. 72.

    Launch dates: IGS-1A (IGS-Optical-1) and IGS-1B (IGS-Radar-1) on 28 March 2003; IGS-3A (IGS-Optical-2) on 11 September 2006; IGS-4V (IGS-E-Optical-3) and IGS-4B (IGS-Radar-2) on 24 February 2007; IGS-5A (IGS-Optical-3) on 28 November 2009; IGS-6A (IGS-Optical-4) on 22 September 2011; IGS-7A (IGS-Radar-3) on 12 December 2011; IGS-8A (IGS-Radar-4) and IGS-8B (IGS-Optical-5V) on 27 January 2013.

  73. 73.

    Launch dates: Ofeq-1 on 19 September 1988; Ofeq-2 on 3 April 1990; Ofeq-3 on 5 April 1995; Ofeq-5 on 28 May 2002; Ofeq-7 on 10 June 2007; Ofeq-9 on 22 June 2010; TecSAR on 21 January 2008.

  74. 74.

    Launch dates: GEOS-3 on 9 April 1975; Seasat on 28 June 1978; Geosat on 13 March 1985 (Geosat[GM] Geodetic Mission: April-Sept. 1986; Geosat [ERM] Exact Repeat Miss.: Nov. 1986–Jan. 1990); GFO-1 on 10 February 1998; TOPEX/Poseidon on 10 August 1992; Jason-1 on 7 December 2001; Jason-2 on 20 June 2008; SARAL on 25 February 2013.

  75. 75.

    In September 2002, Topex/Poseidon was placed on a new orbit, half-way between its former paths (which had become those of Jason-1). “This tandem phase illustrates the scientific potential of an optimised constellation of altimetry satellites” (Aviso, CLS/CNES). The mission officially ended in January 2006. After the launch of Jason-2, Jason-1 was transferred to the former path of T/P, while Jason-2 took the place of Jason-1.

  76. 76.

    Estimated measurement accuracy (averaged over a month): GEOS-3 25 cm; Seasat 5 cm; Geosat 4 cm; ERS-1 and -2 3 cm; TOPEX/Poseidon 2 cm; Jason-1 1 cm; Jason-2 1 cm.

  77. 77.

    Launch dates: Okean-O1-1 on 5 July 1988; Okean-O1-2 on 28 February 1990; Okean-O1-3 (usually called Okean-3) on 4 June 1991; Okean-O1-4 on 11 October 1994; Sich-1 on 31 August 1995; Okean-O-1 (usually called Okean-O) on 17 July 1999.

  78. 78.

    Launch dates: MOS-1 on 19 February 1987; MOS-1B on 7 February 1990; SeaStar on 1 August 1997; Oceansat-1 on 26 May 1999; HY-1A (Ocean-1 or DFH-54) on 12 May 2002 (with FY-1D); HY-1B on 11 April 2007; HY-2A on 15 August 2011; Oceansat-1 on 26 May 1999; Oceansat-2 on 23 September 2009; Arirang-1 (with ACRIMSAT) on 21 December 1999; Arirang-2 on 28 July 2006; Arirang-3 on 18 May 2012; QuikScat on 20 June 1999; Coriolis on 6 January 2003; SAC-D on 10 June 2011.

  79. 79.

    The Koreans chose the name for their satellites in a most unusual way: Arirang is a popular Korean folk song which has become the unofficial national anthem.

  80. 80.

    Aquarius was designed to fly aboard the US satellite of that name, but following a cooperation agreement with Argentina, the satellite became Aquarius/SAC-D, then SAC-D/Aquarius.

  81. 81.

    Gustave Gaspard Coriolis (1792–1843) was a French mathematician and engineer. In his first work, Du calcul de l’effet des machines (1829), he introduce the ideas of work done by a force (force times displacement) and kinetic energy. In his paper Sur le principe des forces vives dans le mouvement relatif des machines (1831), he examined the various accelerations: absolute, relative, frame, and complementary. The latter subsequently became known as the Coriolis acceleration. This is today a basic feature in the study of geophysical fluids in motion, such as marine and atmospheric currents on the surface of the globe.

  82. 82.

    In the geodesy literature, the satellites Transit-5B-1 and -5B-2 are referred to with the simplified notation VBN-1 and VBN-2.

  83. 83.

    In 1961, Transit-4A was the first satellite equipped with a nuclear generator for its electricity supply, the so-called SNAP (System for Nuclear Auxiliary Power). These generators are now referred to by the acronym RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator). Other satellites in this series were equipped with RTG: Transit-4B in 1961, Transit-5B-1, -5B-2, and -5B-3 in 1963, and Triad-1 in 1972. The fuel was polonium-210 for the Transit-4 satellites, and plutonium-238 for the Transit-5 series. In the other US series, satellites with RTG (plutonium-238) were OPS/4682 (or Snapshot, a pun on SNAP), Nimbus-B (failed at launch), Nimbus-3 in an LEO orbit, and the two satellites LES-8 and -9 in GEO orbits. Concerning Soviet satellites equipped with RTG, it is known that there were accidents with Kosmos-954 and Kosmos-1402. Probes travelling far out into the Solar System are also equipped with nuclear generators. (Cassini is carrying 35 kg of plutonium-238, producing a power output of 750 W).

  84. 84.

    There are also around 15 weather satellites, some of which are dual purpose weather and communications, not forgetting the Chinese Beidou positioning satellites (see Chap. 14).

  85. 85.

    As an example, we mention several operational satellites with their parking position in 2013. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, most European countries have abandoned their national satellites to join a European organisation. For instance, the Telecom satellites for France or DFS-Kopernikus for Germany have been absorbed into Eutelsat. Only Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden (owing to their remote position relative to geostationary coverage) and Spain (which also targets Latin America) have held onto their national satellites.

    The first commercial satellite in this category, Anik-1 (Canada), was launched in 1972. We give one satellite per country or organisation, going round the geostationary orbit in the positive direction: Rascom-QAF-14 (African org.) 2.8∘E; Sirius-4 [SES-Sirius-4] (Sweden) 4.8∘E; Eutelsat-7A (Eutelsat org.) 7.0∘E; Astra-1M (Astra org.) 19.2∘E; Badr-6 (Arabsat org.) 26.0∘E; PakSat-1 (Pakistan) 38.0∘E; HellasSat-2 (Greece) 39.0∘E; Türksat-3A (Turkey) 41.8∘E; NigComSat-1R (Nigeria) 42.5∘E; Azerspace-1 (Azerbaidjan) 46.0∘E; Yamal-202 (Russia) 49.0∘E; YahSat-1B (United Arab Emirates) 52.5∘E; INSAT-3E (India) 55.0∘E; Intelsat-906 (Org. Intelsat) 64.1∘E; Thaicom-5 (Thailand) 78.5∘E; Esafi-1 (Tonga) 79.0∘E; ChinaStar-1 (Macao/Chine) 87.5∘E; SupremeSat-1 (Sri Lanka) 87.5∘E; ST-3 (Singapore–Taiwan) 88.0∘E; MeaSat-3 (Malaysia) 91.0∘E; ChinaSat-9 (China) [Zhong Xing-9 or ZX-9] 99.2∘E; AsiaSat-5 (Hong Kong/China) 100.5∘E; KazSat-1 (Kazakhstan) 103.0∘E; KoreaSat-5 [Mugunghwa-5] (South Korea) 113.0∘E; Garuda-1 (Indonesia) 123.0∘E; JCSat-12 [JCSat-RA] (Japan) 128.0∘E; Vinasat-2 (Vietnam) 132.0∘E; Agila-2 [Mabuhay-1] (Philippines) 146.0∘E; Optus-D3 (Australia) 156.0∘E; Galaxy-15 (PanAmSat org.) 133.0∘W; DirectTV-8 (DirectTV org.) 100.8∘W; BrazilSat-B4 (Brazil) 92.0∘W; Nimiq-4 (Canada) 82.0∘W; Venesat-1 [Simon-Bolivar-1] (Venezuela) 78.0∘W; QuetzSat-1 (Mexico) 77.0∘W; Nahuel-1 (Argentina) 71.8∘W; Hispasat-1D (Spain) 30.0∘W; Nilesat-201 (Egypt) 7.0∘W; Amos-3 (Israel) 4.0∘W; Thor-6 (Norway) 0.8∘W.

  86. 86.

    The names chosen for these satellites serve to demonstrate this. The multiethnic country Indonesia, sometimes torn by internal conflict, chose the name Palapa, which means “unity” in Bahasa Indonesian, the official language. Developed countries in the New World seek the names of their satellites in the Amerindian languages, perhaps as a way of finding their roots. Canada named its satellites Anik and Nimiq, which means “brother” (for a sister) and “union” (or “bond that unites”) in Inuktitut (the Inuit or Eskimo language). Argentina uses the Araucanian word “Nahuel” (Araucan, Mapuche language), meaning “tiger”.

  87. 87.

    The two satellites Westar-6 (Western Union Communications Satellite, US) and Palapa-B2 (Indonesia) were launched by STS-10 (STS-41-B) on 3 February 1984, but they never reached the geostationary orbit. The insurers, the new owners, paid for recovery and return of the satellites by the shuttle flight STS-14 (STS-51-A) on 16 November 1984. China bought Westar-6, and turned it into AsiaSat-1, launching the satellite itself on 7 April 1990. The other satellite became Palapa-B2R and was launched on 13 April 1990.

    The adventures of AsiaSat did not end there. The satellite AsiaSat-3, launched by a Russian rocket on 24 December 1997, was placed on the wrong orbit, too highly inclined (a GTO orbit with i = 56∘). After purchasing it, the new owner (Hughes) attempted a novel maneuver: the satellite was sent on two revolutions around the Moon (r a = 488, 000 km, T = 15 day, see the Luna-3 satellite). It then returned to a geostationary orbit and became HGS-1 (Hughes Global Services), before being renamed PAS-22. The replacement, AsiaSat-3S, was inserted into the wrong orbit on 21 March 1999: h p ≈ 10, 000 km, h a = h GS, i = 13∘. Using its thrust motors, it was then moved into GEO orbit.

    Another example of successful recovery, although less spectacular since it was carried out remotely while the satellite remained in GEO orbit, concerns the satellite Palapa-C1. Launched in 1996, it broke down in 1998. The manufacturer bought it back, repaired it under the name of HGS-3, then resold it to Turkey under the name of Anatolia-1, having displaced it in longitude. In 2002, Turkey sold it on to Pakistan, whence it became PakSat-1, but without changing place.

  88. 88.

    US military GEO satellites are:

    • LES (Lincoln Experimental Satellite in GEO orbit from LES-5 (launched in 1967) to LES-9 (in 1976).

    • DSCS (Defense Satellite Communications System) and WGS (Wideband Global Satcom). Launched since 1971, their parking longitudes are over the Americas. In 2003, launch of DSCS-3A3 (USA-167) and DSCS-3B6 (USA-170); in 2007, WGS-1 (USA-195); in 2009, WGS-2 (USA-204) and WGS-3 (USA-211); in 2012, WGS-4 (USA-233).

    • The TDRS satellites (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) of the TDRSS series (TDRS System) are launched at intervals of 2–5 years. The first were launched by the US space shuttle, like TDRS-1 in 1983 (STS-6), or TDRS-2, lost in the explosion of Challenger in 1986, up to TDRS-7 in 1995 (STS-70). TDRS-8 was launched directly in 2000, as were TDRS-9 and -10 in 2002.

    • The Milstar satellites (Military Strategic and Tactical Relay System), since 1994, then the AEHF satellites (Advanced Extreme High Frequency Satellite), like AEHF-1 (USA-214) launched in 2010, are specialised in data transmission at ever higher rates. They are known to be in geostationary orbit, but apart from that, little else is known.

  89. 89.

    Molniya means “lightning” in Russian. This refers to the fact that the satellite moves “as fast as lightning” at the perigee of its orbit. However, the main feature sought of this kind of satellite is to be slow at the apogee, when it overflies Russia! Now how do we say “snail” in Russian?

  90. 90.

    As an example, here are the characteristics of several Molniya orbits with the launch date of the satellite, using the notation \([h_{\mathrm{p}}/h_{\mathrm{a}}/i]\) (altitudes in kilometer, angles in degrees): Molniya-1-01 (23 April 1965) [538/39300/65.5]; Molniya-2-01 (25 November 1971) [516/39553/65.0]; Molniya-3-01 (21 March 1974) [250/40095/64.1]; Molniya-3-50 (8 July 1999) [464/39889/62.8]; Molniya-3-51 (20 July 2001) [407/40831/62.9]; Molniya-3-52 (25 October 2001) [615/40658/62.9]; Molniya-3-53 (19 June 2003) [637/39709/62.8].

  91. 91.

    Launch dates: Meridian-1 on 24 December 2006; Meridian-2 on 20 May 2009, launch failed; Meridian-3 on 11 February 2010; Meridian-4 on 4 May 2011; Meridian-5 on 23 December 2011, failed to reach orbit; Meridian-6 on 14 November 2012.

  92. 92.

    Iridium, set up by Motorola, is a telephone and data transfer system for regions not covered by mobile phone networks. Faced with commercial failure, the first reaction in 2000 was to remove all the satellites from orbit. However, in the end, the system was taken over by the US Department of Defense. It is presently run by a private organisation supplying military and institutional customers for the main part. Originally, the constellation was to include 77 satellites, whence the name Iridium, which is the chemical element Ir with atomic number 77.

  93. 93.

    Launch dates of the first and last satellites of each constellation:

    (a) Orbcomm constellation (Machine to Machine Communications): Orbcomm-FM-1 and -FM-2 on 3 April 1995,

    launched with Microlab-1, h = 740 km, i = 69. 9∘; Orbcomm-FM-3 and -FM-4 on 10 February 1998, launched with GFO-1, h = 830 km, i = 108. 0∘; the other Orbcomm satellites were launched with i = 45. 0∘ in clusters of 8, starting with Orbcomm-FM-5 to -FM-12 on 23 December 1997 and ending with Orbcomm-FM-30 to -FM-36 on 4 December 1999, and supplemented by Orbcomm-FM-37 to -FM-41 on 19 June 2008.

    (b) Iridium constellation: (beginning) Iridium-4 to -8 on 5 May 1997; (end of initial programme) Iridium-83 to -86 on 6 November 1998; (restart) Iridium-90 to -96 on 11 February 2002; Iridium-97 and -98 on 20 June 2002. The Iridium-Next constellation is planned for the same orbit.

    (c) GlobalStar constellation: (beginning) GlobalStar-M001 to -M004 on 14 February 1998; (end) GlobalStar-M060 to -M064 on 8 February 2000; (supplement) GlobalStar-M065 to -M072 on 29 May and 20 October 2007, with h = 666 km, i = 48. 45∘.

    (d) GlobalStar NG constellation (New Generation) or GlobalStar-2: (beginning) GlobalStar-M073 to -M078 on 19 October 2010; (current) GlobalStar-M093 to -M097 on 6 February 2013.

    (e) Teledesic constellation: (demonstration satellite) Teledesic-1 on 26 February 1998.

  94. 94.

    For Teledesic, the initial project, imagined by Microsoft in 1994, involved 840 active satellites (21 planes of 40), with altitude h = 700 km. In 1997, the project was reduced to 288 satellites (12 planes of 24), with Sun-synchronous orbits at altitude h = 1, 400 km, then postponed indefinitely in 2002. Alcatel’s SkyBridge project for 80 satellites is no longer under consideration.

  95. 95.

    To begin with, between 1992 and 2001, 12 satellites were sent up (6 planes of 2), Gonets-D1-1 to -12; then a further 36 satellites, but so far only one has been launched, namely Gonets-M-1, in 2005.

  96. 96.

    First launched was the Westford-1 experiment on 21 October 1961, using the satellite Midas-4. This failed because the needles were not actually dispersed. The second experiment to be launched was Westford-2 on 9 May 1963, using the satellite Midas-7. This time the needles were coated with naphthalene and were regularly dispersed. These two satellites were in near-polar circular orbits at h = 3, 600 km.

  97. 97.

    Arthur Holly Compton (1892–1962) was an American physicist. His work on X rays led him to discover in 1923 the effect which now carries his name (interaction between matter and X rays). He also studied cosmic rays.

  98. 98.

    Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995) was an American astrophysicist of Indian birth. He carried out a great many theoretical studies on the internal structure of stars, publishing books that are often considered to be definitive on the subjects he treated, e.g., stellar evolution and white dwarfs, radiative transfer in stellar atmospheres (Radiative Transfer, 1950), hydrodynamics, black holes (The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes, 1983). The root “chand” means “Moon” or “bright” in Sanskrit.

  99. 99.

    Edwin Powell Hubble (1889–1953) was an American astronomer. He produced a classification of extragalactic nebulas and, in 1928, established the law of spectral shifts, now known as the Hubble law, which says that the spectral shift of a galaxy (redshift) is proportional to its distance, thus confirming the hypothesis that the Universe is expanding. The constant of proportionality H 0, called the Hubble constant, is not precisely known and may even vary in time. It is measured in km s−1 per megaparsec. Its reciprocal, which has units of time, gives the age of the Universe to within an order of magnitude: 1∕H 0 ∼ 10 billion years.

  100. 100.

    In honour of Lyman Spitzer Jr (1914–1957), the American astrophysicist who first suggested placing a large telescope in space.

  101. 101.

    Launch dates: Swift (MIDEX-3 or Explorer-84), for detection of gamma-ray bursts (GRB), on 20 November 2004; GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope), renamed Fermi or FGRST (Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope) after the launch on 11 June 2008; Agile (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero) on 23 April 2007.

  102. 102.

    Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) was an Italian physicist. At the beginning of his career, he developed the theory of quantum statistical mechanics, which explains the properties of electrons in metals (Fermi–Dirac statistics). In nuclear physics, he devised a theory of the weak interaction (β-decay and neutrinos). In 1939, he emigrated to the USA, where he built the first atomic pile and contributed to the development of the first atomic bomb. He also studied galaxies with Chandrasekhar.

  103. 103.

    The satellite determined the position, luminosity, and distance of 118, 218 stars. The accuracy of the measurements (2 milliarcsec) was 100 times better than ground-based measurements of the day.

  104. 104.

    The main mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope was manufactured by the company Perkin-Elmer. It was only after launch that it was realised that the work had not been carried out correctly and that the telescope optics produced fuzzy images. The problem came from a faulty lens alignment, and the error was one millimeter, whereas the standard imposed for this project was a fraction of the visible wavelength, i.e., a hundred or so nanometers. Today, Perkin-Elmer has a highly diversified multinational activity but it has closed its department of astronomical optics.

  105. 105.

    In honour of James E. Webb (1906–1992), NASA’s second administrator, who directed the Apollo programme and was one of the instigators of the first interplanetary exploration.

  106. 106.

    GAIA’s mission is to observe and record a billion stars with an accuracy of 10 μarcsec. For stars within 500 light-years, the distance will be known to within a few light-days.

  107. 107.

    Orbital characteristics: h p = 1, 110 km, h a = 70, 504 km, i = 5. 1∘; a = 42, 185 km, e = 0. 822, T d = 1, 436 min = 1 sidereal day. Cryostat: 2,200 L of superfluid helium. Temperatures of the various components: detector 2 K, optics 3–4 K, instruments 8 K.

  108. 108.

    William Herschel (1738–1822) was a British astronomer of German origins. His life attests to an unusual intellectual development, revealing an exceptionally curious nature. He was led to mathematics by music, and from there moved on to astronomy. He made his own telescopes and they were the best of his day. He discovered Uranus in 1781, and then later, two of its moons, followed by two of the moons of Saturn. He demonstrated the displacement of the Solar System through the Galaxy and gave the coordinates of the apparent convergence point (the so-called apex) in 1783. In 1801, he discovered infrared radiation.

  109. 109.

    In contrast to IRAS and ISO, however, Spitzer was designed with an innovative “warm-launch” cryogenic architecture. The observatory was launched at ambient temperature and radiatively (or passively) cooled in the deep recesses of space. Only the focal plane instruments and the liquid helium cryostat are enclosed in a vacuum shell containing liquid helium. This innovative launch architecture, combined with 360 L of liquid helium, yields an estimated mission lifetime of about 5 years. For the sake of comparison, IRAS used 520 L of cryogen during its 10 month mission (52 L per month as compared with 6).

  110. 110.

    Launched on 30 June 2001, the MAP probe made four revolutions around the Earth on ever more eccentric orbits, reaching the vicinity of the Moon a month later. Using a lunar swing-by, it took another 2 months to arrive at the point L 2 of the Sun–Earth system on 1 October 2001 and go into the halo orbit. MAP was renamed WMAP (or Wilkinson MAP) in February 2003, in honour of David T. Wilkinson of Princeton University, a world-famous cosmologist and MAP team member, who died in September 2002.

  111. 111.

    Max Planck (1858–1947) was a German physicist. He studied blackbody radiation and found an expression for the blackbody spectrum as a function of temperature and frequency. This problem had stumped many physicists before him. Planck solved it in 1900 by introducing the idea of the energy quantum. The theory of these quanta then became the basis for much of modern physics.

  112. 112.

    Two rather similar projects were originally proposed to the European Space Agency: COBRAS (Cosmic Background Radiation Anisotropy Satellite) and SAMBA (Satellite for Measurement of Background Anisotropies). They were combined into one under the title COBRAS/SAMBA. However, this pleasantly exotic but heavy and supremely redundant appellation was abandoned in favour of the short but enlightening name of Planck.

  113. 113.

    Launch date: Halca on 12 February 1997. Halca (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communication and Astronomy), also called Muses-B or VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme) was renamed Haruka (haruka means “remote”) after launch, in accordance with the Japanese tradition.

  114. 114.

    Launched on 18 July 2011, it replaces the overambitious Russian project KRT-25 (with European participation), a 25 m radiotelescope, planned to follow a variable orbit. Over its 7 year lifespan, this orbit was to become more and more eccentric: h p ≈ 5, 000 km, h a from 20, 000 to 150, 000 km, i = 63∘.

  115. 115.

    It later transpired that the first Solrad missions, from Solrad-1 to -7B, between 1960 and 1965, were primarily spy satellites (ELINT). To give the Solrad programme a more scientific countenance, it was also referred to as GREB (Galactic Radiation Experimental Background) or GRAB (Galactic Radiation And Background).

  116. 116.

    Launch dates: TRACE on 1 April 1998; ACRIMSAT on 21 December 1999; Hinode on 20 September 2006; Picard on 15 June 2010.

  117. 117.

    Launch dates: Koronas-I on 2 March 1994; Koronas-F on 13 July 2001; Koronas-Foton on 30 January 2009. The letters I and F stand for Izmiran and Firas, the names of those who first conceived of these projects. Koronas-Foton is also called CORONAS-Photon (Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun), with the obvious allusion to the solar corona.

  118. 118.

    Launch dates: MOST on 30 June 2003; CoRoT on 27 December 2006.

  119. 119.

    Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882–1944) was a British astronomer and physicist. He did much to promote the theory of relativity (see the note on Einstein), through the publication of his book Space, Time and Gravitation first published in 1920 but still being reprinted. He also laid the foundations for a new discipline, stellar dynamics, with The Internal Constitution of the Stars (1926), in which he shows that a star is subject to two opposing effects: it tends to contract under the effect of gravity, while the release of energy tends to push it apart.

  120. 120.

    Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist. From 1831 to 1836, he took part in an expedition to South America (and in particular to the Galapagos islands) and Oceanica aboard the HMS Beagle. As a geologist and botanist, he elaborated his theory of evolution on the basis of notes taken and collections brought back from this expedition. He concluded that the variability of the species is due to the effects of their environment and to sudden variations. These variations are only favoured by natural selection if they give the individual organism an advantage in its struggle for survival (subsistence and reproduction). His famous book The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Darwin’s theory, supported and developed by a great many intellectuals, was attacked without scientific argument by the conservative-minded and religious classes. Here was another problem of divine order!

  121. 121.

    The Darwin flotilla comprises six satellites in formation. They lie strictly in the same plane and each is equipped with a telescope in such a way as to form an infrared interferometer. One master satellite, a short distance from the others, oversees the satellite positions and provides the link with the Earth. The aim is to detect planets orbiting other stars and to spy out possible signatures of life beyond our own Solar System.

  122. 122.

    The inception of this mission dates back to the beginnings of the space age. In 1959, physicists at Stanford university suggested this experiment and it was accepted by NASA in 1961. However, checking general relativity was not such an urgent matter as the race to the Moon, and it was put on hold. Then there came other priorities in the form of the planetary missions and the Space Shuttle.

    The preliminary experiment GP-A took place in June 1976. It consisted in sending a clock (a hydrogen maser) into space in a suborbital flight at an altitude of 10,000 km. It succeeded in measuring a clock difference that bore out the predictions of Einstein’s theory. During this time, dozens of theses were written at Stanford on this subject, but GP-B was still being put off! Finally, in 1995, the mission was rescheduled with a more definite timetable. Launched in 2004, the first certified results arrived in 2007, confirming the theory.

  123. 123.

    The equivalence principle postulated by Einstein is based on the observation that all bodies, independently of their mass, have the same acceleration in a gravitational field for identical initial conditions. This is the universal principle of free fall: the passive gravitational mass of a body (m = m g in the expression for the gravitational force, involving G) is equal to the inertial mass (m = m i in Newton’s second law):

    $$\displaystyle{F = GMm_{\mathrm{g}}/{r}^{2}\;,\qquad F = m_{\mathrm{ i}}a\;.}$$
  124. 124.

    The relation \(m_{\mathrm{g}}/m_{\mathrm{i}} = 1\) has been checked on Earth to an accuracy of 10−12. The μSCOPE experiment aims to achieve 10−14 and STEP 10−17. Research on the STEP accelerometers began at Stanford university as early as 1971.

  125. 125.

    The three satellites will be placed at the corners of an equilateral triangle with side 5 million kilometers. The center of the triangle will lie in the plane of the ecliptic, on the same heliocentric orbit as the Earth, but 20 days behind, i.e., 50 million kilometers away. The plane of the triangle will be slightly inclined to the plane of the ecliptic. The three satellites, linked by laser, will constitute a gigantic Michelson interferometer.

  126. 126.

    SBIRS-GEO: SBIRS-GEO-1 (USA-230) launched on 7 May 2011; SBIRS-GEO-2 (USA-241) launched on 19 March 2013. SBIRS-HEO: see below, Trumpet-FO satellites.

  127. 127.

    GEO orbit: 11 satellites from Oko-US-KMO-1 (Kosmos-1960) in 1988 to Oko-US-KMO-11 (Kosmos-2440) in 2008. HEO (Molniya) orbit: 83 satellites (86 launched, 3 failures) from Oko-US-K-1 (Kosmos-520) in 1972 to Oko-US-K-85 (Kosmos-2446) in 2008 and Oko-US-K-86 (Kosmos-2469) in 2010.

  128. 128.

    On 11 January 2007, China carried out a test by launching a missile from the Xichang space center in the province of Sichuan. The target was the defunct weather satellite FY-1C, at an altitude of 853 km. Thousands of pieces of debris were thereby created and continued in orbit for months or years, depending on their dimensions. On 21 February 2008, the United States announced that their satellite USA-193 had been successfully intercepted at an altitude of 310 km by a missile launched by USS Lake Erie, anchored near Hawaii. Given the low altitude of this satellite, all the debris is considered to have burnt up in the atmosphere within 90 days.

  129. 129.

    The word “ferret” comes from the French “furet”, which itself comes from Latin as a diminutive of fur, furis, meaning “thief”. The word “furtive” belongs to the group of words with this root, so it is perhaps well suited to a spy satellite.

  130. 130.

    First launch: SBSS-1 (USA-216) on 21 September 2010. The motto of the SBSS mission, namely, vidi, scio, patrocinor (to see, to know, to protect), is clear enough. Its objective is to detect any object measuring more than one meter in orbit.

  131. 131.

    Launch dates: NROL-66 (USA-225), also called RPP (Rapid Pathfinder Program) on 6 February 2011; NROL-34 (USA-229) on 15 April 2011. NROL means NRO launch.

  132. 132.

    The three satellites of the series Trumpet-1 (USA-103), Trumpet-2 (USA-112), and Trumpet-3 (USA-136) are in Molniya orbit with apogee over Russia. Their antennas have diameters of several tens of meters, and apparently between 100 and 150 m, for Trumpet-3. The data are gathered by the SDS satellites, also in Molniya orbit.

  133. 133.

    Launch dates for the series Trumpet Follow-On: Trumpet-FO-1 (USA-184, NROL-22, SBIRS-HEO-1) on 28 June 2006; Trumpet-FO-2 (USA-200, NROL-28, SBIRS-HEO-2) on 13 March 2008.

  134. 134.

    Mercury-1 (USA-105 or Jeroboam) and Mercury-2 (USA-118). This programme is sometimes called Mercury Advanced Vortex to distinguish it from the Mercury programme of manned flights.

  135. 135.

    The three first satellites launched were Mentor-1 (USA-110) in 1995, Mentor-2 (USA-139, NROL-6) in 1998, and Mentor-3 (USA-171, NROL-19 or Homer) in 2003. These were followed by Mentor-4 (USA-202, NROL-26), the first of the Intruder series, also called IOSA (Integrated Overhead SIGINT Architecture, or Intruder-1), launched on 17 January 2009. According to Aviation Week, this is the largest, the most secret, and the most expensive US military satellite. Including the launch, it is said to have cost over two billion dollars. However, this record was soon beaten by the following, Mentor-5 (USA-223, NROL-32), launched on 11 November 2010.

  136. 136.

    Geosynchronous orbit h p = 30, 500 km, h a = 41, 000 km, i = 7–9∘, for the seven Canyon satellites, from Canyon-1 (OPS/2222) in 1968 to Canyon-7 (OPS/9751) in 1977, and the six Vortex satellites, from Vortex-1 (OPS/9454 or Chalet-1) to Vortex-6 (USA-37 or Chalet-6).

  137. 137.

    From the first Columbia flight on 12 April 1981, STS-1, up to the end of 1983, with STS-9, flights were numbered sequentially, but from 1984, their number included the fiscal year, the point of launch, and a letter indicating the order for that year: STS-10 thus becomes STS-41-B. Following the Challenger disaster, STS-51-L, which was the 25th shuttle flight (STS-25), NASA decided to return to the system of numbering by scheduling order (which is not necessarily the same as launch order).

  138. 138.

    Last flights in 2011 were Discovery (STS-133), Endeavour (STS-134), and Atlantis (STS-135).

  139. 139.

    Other organisations classify these as burial satellites. Without wishing to carry out unnecessary advertising for the Celestis company, we may quote the following sales information: “Celestis offers to launch a symbolic portion of the cremated remains of the individuals into space”. Business is clearly booming: several satellites have been placed in orbit since 1997, not to mention a lunar impact with Lunar-01 (in fact, a capsule carried by Lunar Prospector) in 1998, following the same idea. There is a project to send such spacecraft into deep space and out of the Solar System. The first three satellites, Celestis-1 to -3, had very different orbits, because they were launched as passengers with much bigger missions. Of the following, Celestis-4 and Celestis-7, burnt up in space due to launch failure (grouped with OrbView-4 and QuikTOMS for the first, and Trailblazer for the second). So these were certainly the first examples of satellites in which the payload was in no way deteriorated by the explosion! Note that, between 2000 and 2007, these satellites were also given the names EarthView-01, -02, -03, and -04, respectively, which might cause some surprise in a remote-sensing bibliography.

  140. 140.

    Launched with OICETS by a Russian rocket, TMC (Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule) encloses the country’s flag and a book with the title Rukhnama, a historical and philosophical work written by Saparmurat Niyazov, president of Turkmenistan for life.

  141. 141.

    For missions to other planets, Kepler’s laws impose strict windows for launch dates. No delay was possible for Voyager-1 and -2, …, Cassini, and New Horizons. In the case of Rosetta, a delay of several months forced the ESA to change the target comet.

  142. 142.

    The author of Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid pronounced the following law which carries his name: “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law”.

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  1. Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

    Michel Capderou

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Capderou, M. (2014). Orbit and Mission. In: Handbook of Satellite Orbits. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03416-4_9

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