Double Star (satellite)
Double Star was a joint satellite based space mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was the first space mission launched by China to investigate Earth's magnetosphere. It consisted of two satellites: an Equatorial satellite (TC-1) and Polar satellite (TC-2). Double Star followed in the footsteps of ESA's Cluster mission by studying the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment. After a nominal mission of one year (from the launch of TC-2 in July 2004), the Double Star mission was extended twice by both agencies until the end of September 2007.
| Names | Tan Ce (Explorer) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | CNSA ยท ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2003-061A (TC-1) 2004-029A (TC-2) |
| SATCAT no. | 28140 (TC-1) 28382 (TC-2) |
| Website | ESA website (archive) |
| Mission duration | 3 years, 9 months, 15 days (TC-1) 19 years, 8 months and 24 days (TC-2) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 29 December 2003, 19:06 UTC (TC-1) 25 July 2004, 07:05 UTC (TC-2) |
| Rocket | Long March 2C |
| Launch site | Xichang Satellite Launch Center |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited (TC-1) |
| Decay date | 14 October 2007 (TC-1) |
ESA quadrilateral mission insignia for the Double Star mission. | |
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