Cluster 2 FM8

ESA

Spacecraft nº:

ESA spacecraft nº: 46

Also called Tango

Launch data:

Designation	26464 / 00045B
Launch date	09 Aug 2000 - 11:13:35 UT
Launch site	B, LC-31
Launch vehicle	Soyuz-U/Fregat (11A511U)
Mission	Scientific
Elyptical Earth orbit:
Perigee/Apogee	19000/119000 km
Inclination	65°
Period
Elyptical Earth orbit on Aug 2010:
Perigee / Apogee	1856 x 130941 km
Eccentricity
Inclination	129.6 deg
Period	min

Specifications:

Prime contractor	Astrium (Dornier)
Platform
Mass at launch	1200 kg
Dry mass	550 kg
Payload mass	71 kg
Dimension	2.9 m diameter x 1.3 m height
Solar array
Stabilization
DC power	224 W
Design lifetime

Description:

11 scientific experiments including also carries two 5 meter-long experiment booms, four 50 meter-long wire booms, and two antenna booms:

1: Fluxgate Magnetometer (FGM) to provide magnetic field components
2: Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) to enable inference of electric field vector in the vicinity by recapturing the emissions from an electron gun
3: Active Spacecraft POtential Control experiment (ASPOC) in which positive indium ions are shot in order to neutralize the build-up of positive charges on a spacecraft
4: Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuation experiment (STAFF) to do in situ analysis of the fluctuations in the magnetic field
5: Electric Field and Wave experiment (EFW) to measure the electric field and plasma density fluctuations
6: Digital Wave Processing experiment (DWP) to enable in situ correlations of waves and plasma density
7: Waves of HIgh frequency and Sounder for Probing Electron density by Relaxation experiment (WHISPER) which excites local plasma oscillations synchronous with the pulsed radio emissions
8: Wide Band Data instrument (WBD) which monitors the B- and E-fields of natural VLF emissions such as whistlers
9: Plasma Electron And Current Experiment (PEACE) which enables 3-D distribution function of cold and hot electrons
10: Cluster Ion Spectroscopy experiment (CIS) to monitor the charge, mass, and distribution function of hot and cold ions
11: Research with Adaptive Particle Imaging Detectors (RAPID) to monitor the arrival direction of very high energy electrons and ions, and their energies.

Mission details:

On Aug 2010, Cluster-Tango is in a 1856 x 130941 km x 129.6 deg orbit, close to its dance partners Samba, Salsa and Rumba.

Ref.: #7(JR632), #15 - update: 19.10.10

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