STSAT-2C

Spacecraft nº:

South Korean spacecraft nº:16

Launch data: Designation  39068 / 13003A Launch date  30 Jan 2013 - 07:00 UT  (4 p.m. local time) Launch site  Naro Space Center Launch vehicle  Naro 1 (KSLV-1) Mission  Gov.: Technology, astronomy LEO Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  298 x 1482 km Eccentricity  8,15E-02 Inclination  80.28 deg Period  102.77 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufacturer  Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Platform   Operator  KAIST Mass at launch  93 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)  1 x 1 x 1.5 Equipment  LRA, Langmuir probe, SREM, RWA, IRS, FSO Solar array  Solar cells Stabilization   Propulsion   DC power

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Description:

• STSAT-2C (Science and Technology Satellite-2) is the third satellite to be launched by the Naro-1 (KSLV-1) launch vehicle, at Naro Space Center, Korea in 2012.
• STSAT 2C is a South Korean satellite placed in a 186-mile by 932-mile orbit, where the craft would test new space technologies and monitor plasma and radiation levels in low Earth orbit. With STSAT 2C, South Korea becomes the 11th country to launch its own satellite into orbit from its own soil.
• STSAT-2C carries six payloads:
  • The Laser Retro-reflector Array (LRA) allows the spacecraft to be tracked with centimeter accuracy by satellite laser ranging (SLR) stations which make up the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).
  • a Langmuir probe will be used to determine the electron temperature, electron density, and electric potential of plasma.
  • the Space Radiation Effects Monitor (SREM) will be used for measurements and monitoring of the near-earth space environment.
  • in addition, the Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA), IR Sensor (IRS), and Femto second Laser Oscillator (FSO) are carried for the verification of new space technologies
• Naro-1 consists of an Angara-URM first stage built by the Russian Khrunichev company, and a solid second stage built by South Korea.
  KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute for Space Technology (based in Daejon) developed the satellite and KARI, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Han-guk Hanggong Uju Yeon-guwon) led development the launch vehicle and carried out the launch.

Mission details:

• Launch delayed on Oct 26, 2012 due to potential fuel leak problem that was detected only hours before its scheduled liftoff.
• Launch delayed from Nov 2012.
• The 108-foot-tall Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle, or KSLV 1, ignited its Russian main engine at 0700 GMT (2 a.m. EST) on Jan.30, 2013 and rose from a launch pad at the Naro Space Center, a facility in South Jeolla province about 300 miles south of Seoul.
• Shortly after liftoff, the 300,000-pound launcher conducted its pitch maneuver to align itself with its precise ascent trajectory to reach its target orbit, flying South to reach an inclination of 80 degrees. Being powered by a single RD-151 engine, the KSLV launcher climbed uphill until T+3 minutes and 35 seconds when Payload Fairing Separation occurred. 13 seconds thereafter, the first stage engine shut down and the stage separated from the stack that began a short coast to climb up to the apogee altitude of the sub-orbital trajectory that was achieved by the first stage.
• After 163 seconds of coasting, the second stage of the KSLV launcher which is solid-fueled, ignited to give the stack a final boost into orbit. Footage seen from the control center has shown a real-time animation of the second stage burn followed by spacecraft separation at T+9 minutes, completing a successful flight of the KSLV launcher.
• Planned orbit was 300 x 1500 km x 80 deg; US tracking shows the payload in a 292 x 1511 km x 80.3 deg orbit, essentially perfect given possible different definitions of the reference sphere. The payload carries a laser reflector array for geodesy, an ionosphere instrument, and technology experiments.