Elektron 1

Launch data: Designation 00746 / 64006A Launch date 30 Jan 1964 - 09:45:09 UT Launch site B, LC1 Launch vehicle Vostok 8K72K Satellite type 2D N°1 Mission Scientific: magnetophere and ionosphere study Earth orbit on: Perigee/Apogee 394 x 7126 km Inclination 60,83° Period 169,32 min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor   Customer   Platform   Mass at launch  329 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Domed cylinder + 6 paddles + 9 booms Dimension (m)  1,2 long - 0,8 dia Solar array   Stabilization   DC power   Design lifetime 200 years

Description:

• Electron 1 was launched with Electron 2 by a single launch vehicle in order to perform simultaneous investigations of the external and internal zones of the Earth′s radiation belt. Electron 1 had a cylindrical body that was 0.75 m in diameter and 1.3 m long and from which antennas and six solar cell panels were extended. The spacecraft was placed into an eccentric orbit that enabled it to study the internal zone of the radiation belt. It was equipped with micrometeorite detectors, a mass spectrometer, a proton detector, and instruments for recording the corpuscular emission and energy spectrum of electrons. A memory device was included so that observations over several orbits could be obtained by USSR telemetry stations when the satellite was within communications range.

External links:

• Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking