Sfera-53

Spacecraft n°:

Russian spacecraft n°:

Launch data:

Description:

• SFERA, also called TEKh-44 will be used by the Russians for Tracking Tests using Ground Tracking Stations and for the evaluation of orbital debris and orbital decay studies. The sphere is 53 centimeters in diameter and has a mass of about 13 Kilograms. The objective of the Sfera Mission is to update atmospheric parameters of Earth, specifically, the atmospheric density at orbits 100-400 km above the Earth. The satellite has been launched during the EVA-31 from the International Space Station.

Mission details:

• On Aug 20, 2012 astronauts Padalka and Malencheko carried out spacewalk VKD-31 from the Pirs module using spacesuits Orlan-MK No. 5 and 6. At 1829 UTC they ejected the Sfera-53 passive air density calibration satellite into a 401 x 406 km x 51.6 deg orbit using a special handling device delivered aboard Progress M-15M.
• According to Andrey Krasil'nikov, Sfera-53 was launched on Progress M-16M, and has a mass of 8.0 kg and a diameter of 0.53m.