Azur (satellite)

Azur (also called GRS-A) was West Germany's first scientific satellite. Launched on 8 November 1969 it studied the Van Allen belts, solar particles, and aurorae.

Azur
OperatorBMWF/DLR
COSPAR ID1969-097A
SATCAT no.4221
Mission duration7 months, 20 days (achieved)
54 years, 5 months, 1 day (in orbit)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerBMWF/NASA
Launch mass71 kilograms (157 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date8 November 1969, 01:52 (1969-11-08UTC01:52Z) UTC
RocketScout B S169C
Launch siteVandenberg SLC-5
End of mission
Last contact29 June 1970 (1970-06-30)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeMedium Earth
Decayed into Low Earth
Periapsis altitude368 kilometres (229 mi)
Apoapsis altitude1,445 kilometres (898 mi)
Inclination102.70 degrees
Period102.99 minutes
Epoch6 December 2013, 12:36:47 UTC
 

The construction of the satellite was carried out by Ludwig Bölkow, one of the aeronautical pioneers of Germany, and with the participation of other German companies.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.