Coriolis

USA/USAF

Spacecraft n°:

USA satellite n°:

Also called Windsat and P98-2, USA 165(?)

Launch data:

Designation	27640 / 03001A
Launch date	06 Jan 2003 - 14:19 UT
Launch site	Vandenberg, SLC-4W
Launch vehicle	Titan-23G (#24)
Mission	Military: Earth and Space Science
LEO Sun-Synchronous Earth orbit on:
Perigee / Apogee	823 x 841 km
Eccentricity	3.26E-02
Inclination	98,73°
Period	101,55 min

Specifications:

Prime contractor	Spectrum Astro
Platform	SA-200HP
Operator	US Air Force/US Navy/NASA
Mass at launch	827 kg (includes 82 kg of hydrazine propellant)
Dry mass	745 kg
Dimension	4.69 m height x 1.34 m diameter (7 m height in orbit)
Solar array	provides 1174 W at EOL
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power
Design lifetime	3 yrs

Credit: Spectrum Astro

Has a 30 Gbit solid state recorder. Active swath 1025 km

Command and telemetry in S-band, data downlink in X-band (upto 51.2 Mbps). In S-band, the US Navy will download radiometer data in realtime.

Payload:

Windsat:Naval Research Lab's yaw-spinneng polarimetric radiometer, measures microwave radiation to study the strength and direction of ocean surface winds
SMEI: Solar Mass Ejection Imager build by the USAF reseach lab, uses a precisely calibrated camera to take pictures of solar eruptions which can affect the ionosphere.

Mission:

Coriolis is a joint USAF and USN project, mission 98-2 in the Space Test Program. It carries two instruments: WINDSAT is a microwave polarimentric radiometer and SMEI is a solar mass ejection imager.
Will measure ocean wind speed and direction above the seas. Will also monitor solar activity (takes solar eruption photos) and image Solar Mass Ejections (SME)..
The Titan second stage main engine shut down at 1424 UTC in a 219 x 824 km orbit; small thrusters on the second stage fired near apogee at 1514 UTC to raise the orbit to 278 x 827 km, and Coriolis then separated. By Jan 11 its own propulsion system had raised the orbit to 489 x 849 km x 98.7 deg.

Ref.: #3(SD367),#7(JSR492), #12, #15, #84, #226 - update: 20.08.09

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