Hipparcos

Europe / ESA

International Sat. nº:

ESA spacecraft nº: 29

HIgh Precision PARallax COllecting Satellite, named as a Greek astronomer of the 2nd century before JC: Hipparkhos

Launch data:

Designation:	20169 / 89062B
Launch date	08 Aug 1989
Launch site	Ko, ELA-2
Launch vehicle:	Ariane-44LP (V33)
Mission:	Scientific: astronomy
Earth orbit on:
Perigee/Apogee	498/35889 km
Inclination	6.5°
Period	638.7 min

Was intended on geostationary 12°W slot but its Mage motor didn't work. The data it provided from Nov 1989 on was recalculated to match its orbital position.

Hipparcos observed 118274 stars with a precision between 0.0008 and 0.002 arcsec depending on the objects magnitude. 10000 double stars were observed including 7000 which were discovered by the satellite. It also discovered numerous variable stars.

Specifications

Prime contractor	Matra Marconi Space
Mass at launch	1140 kg
Payload mass	200 kg
Diameter	2.5 m
Height	3 m
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power	380 W
Design lifetime	2.5 years

End of life

Out of service	15 Aug 1993
Cause	Stopped transmitting in June 1993

Schmidt telescope & photon detector

Telescope aperture	0.29 m
Field of view	0.9 x 0.9°
Frequency band	visible: 375-750 nm
Telemetry/data	S-band

Mission details:

Aug 30, 1989: The MAGE-2 apogee boost motor on Hipparcos failed to fire after repeated attempts. Hipparcos will get some photometry, but no distances or proper motions. A major loss to astronomy.

Ref: #7(JR23), #78a - update: 03.11.08