MaqSat H & Teamsat

ESA

Spacecraft nº:

ESA spacecraft nº: 38

MaqSat H = Maquette Satellite - Haute
Also called Teamsat (Technology, science and Education experiments Added to Maqsat)

Launch data:

Designation	25023 / 97066A
Launch date	30 Oct 1997 - 13:43 UT
Launch site	Ko, ELA-3
Launch vehicle	Ariane-5G (V101)
Mission	Technology (Vehicle evaluation)
Earth orbit on:
Perigee/Apogee	554/26612 km
Inclination	7.7°
Period	468 min

Spacecraft data:

Prime manufacturer	Kayser-Threde
Platform
Operator	Arianespace
Mass at launch	2290 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment
Solar array	None
Stabilization
Propulsion	None
DC power
Design lifetime

MaqSat H & TEAMSAT

Description:

MaqSat H (Maquette Satellite - Haute) is a dummy satellite full of instruments to measure environment of launch.
The ARIANE 502 payload consists of three components: The lower Instrumented Platform (MaqSat B), the upper Instrumented Payload (MaqSat H) and TEAMSAT (Technology education Experiment Added To MAQSat) (various experiments of European universities) which is added to MaqSat H. The platforms are developed, manufactured and tested by Kayser-Threde, Munich and correspond to about 90 % of the total payload mass.
MaqSat H, 2290 kg in mass including TEAMSAT, 350 kg & 5 m in height, will use 34 sensors to measure acceleration, vibration, shock and acoustic noise at different locations. On an instrumentation plate flight data (32 Mbyte) will be recorded within the first four minutes after ignition. Immediately afterwards, the data will be transmitted down to Kourou within the following 4 minutes. The MAQSATH structure itself, including a simulating solar panel, will fulfill various frequency and stiffness requirements and has the dimensions of a typical large comunications satellite. The evaluation of the flight data will result in understanding and validity of the environment requirements for future satellites launched on Ariane-5G.
After injection into GTO, MAQSAT-H was jettisoned. Afterwards, the ESA experiment TEAMSAT began to operate. TEAMSAT ejected later the YES subsatellite, which was originally a tethered experiment, but for security reasons, the tether was not used.
Teamsat was produced in 7 months at ESTEC.

Experiments:

Orbiting Debris Device(ODD) - Automation & Informatics Department, ESTEC. The MAQSAT-H satellite is painted with contrasting patterns (75% white and 25% black) to support testing and calibration of ground-based optical and radar stations in Europe. The contrasting paint should also allow detection of the rotation or tumbling of MAQSAT-H. Additionally, surface paint degradation will be studied.

Autonomous Vision System (AVS) - Technical University of Denmark. AVS is a camera which automatically recognises and tracks stars or non-stellar objects (such as satellites). AVS can be used to identify specific stars, determine the attitude of satellites for navigation purposes and acquire images.

Visual Telemetry System (VTS) - MMS Bristol (UK) / IMEC and OIP (Belgium). VTS is an imaging system to monitor spacecraft activities such as the operations of critical mechanisms. TEAMSAT hosts a system of three cameras and a master unit to provide compressed image sequences of the fairing opening and satellite separations.

Flux Probe Experiment (FIPEX) - University of Stuttgart. FIPEX will measure the concentration of atomic oxygen at altitudes up to 1000 kilometres. Atomic oxygen is known for its erosion effect and degradation of optical surfaces and lenses.

Ref: #14, #78a, #113 - update: 19.11.11