Lewis

USA

Named for 19th century explorer Meriwether Lewis
Also called: SSTI 1

Launch data:

Designation 24909 / 97044A
Launch date23 Aug 1997
Launch site Va, SLC-6
Launch vehicle  Athena-1 (LMLV-1 #2)
Mission Scientific: Remote sensing
Earth orbit on:
Perigee/Apogee 300 km
Inclination 97.5°
Period 95 min

Part of the Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI), for NASA.

Specifications

Prime contractor TRW
Platform STEP
Mass at launch 385 kg
Mass in orbit  
Dimension  
Solar array  
Stabilization 3-axis
DC power 370 W
Design lifetime 5 years

Telemetry: 2275.3 MHz (8 kbps)
Command: 2095.172 MHz (2 kbps)
Data: 2275.3 MHz (2.048 Mbps)
It would have flown 3 imaging spectrometers to gather high resolution spectral images of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, celestial objects. 5 m resolution Panchromatic, 30 m resolution Multispectral

End of life

Out of service 26 Aug 1997
Cause Went out of control after wrong maneuver
Decay 28 Sep 1997

Payload

HSI: Hyper Spectral Imager (will enable to collect data in 384 channels whereas currently standard instruments are limited to 20 channels (range 0.4 µm to 2.5 µm)) (built by TRW)
LEISA: Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (built by NASA Goddard)
UCB: Ultraviolet Cosmic Background Experiment (built by Berkeley)

Lewis will also carry 15 technology demonstrations experiments.

Ref: #15 - update: 27.12.10