Mar 22 2006
From The Space Library
NASA launched the first three microsatellites in the Space Technology 5 (ST 5) mission, aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, at 9:04 a.m. (EST). The ST 5 mission was part of NASA’s New Millennium Program, created to identify, develop, build, and test innovative technologies and concepts for use in future missions. NASA launched the three satellites to a near-Earth polar elliptical orbit that would enable them to travel from approximately 300 kilometers (190 miles) to approximately 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) above Earth. Once in orbit, the satellites would form a row, with each satellite approximately 40 to 200 kilometers (25 to 125 miles) away from the others. Miniature boom-mounted magnetometers on each satellite would collect data enabling coordinated multi-point measurements of Earth’s magnetic field. This type of measurement would be useful in future missions studying the effect of solar activity on Earth’s magnetosphere, the bubble that protects Earth from harmful space radiation. The satellites would remain operational for approximately 90 days.
NASA, “NASA’s Space Technology 5 Satellites Soar into Space,” news release 06-104, 22 March 2006, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/mar/HQ_06104_ST5_Successful_Launch.html (accessed 14 September 2009); NASA, “Space Technology 5: Mission Overview,” http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st-5/main/index.html (accessed 4 January 2010).
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