Sep 27 2003
From The Space Library
A Russian Cosmos-3M rocket launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia carrying three 100-kilogram (0.1 -tonne or 0.11-ton) satellites into orbit for Nigeria (NigeriaSat- 1), Turkey (BILSAT-1), and the United Kingdom (UK-DMC). The satellites joined a similar satellite from Algeria, launched in November 2002, to form the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). The DMC's purpose was to provide environmental information regarding floods, earthquakes, and fires. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of Guildford, United Kingdom, which specialized in small satellites, had initiated the DMC project. The four craft had ground resolution of 32 meters (105 feet), and each image produced by the satellites showed 600 square kilometers (231.7 square miles). The Cosmos-3M also carried two military satellites for Russia. One of the satellites, Rubin-4 DSI, was a Russian communications experiment in transmitting telemetry data via standard e-mail, using Orbcomm communications satellites. Another, Mozheyets-4, built by students at the Mozhaisk Military Space Academy, tested hardware for future use on Russia's GLONASS (Global Satellite Navigation System). The third was South Korea's KAITSAT-4 scientific-research microsatellite, a demonstration platform to test new satellite systems, hosting five science experiments from an international team of researchers. (Peter B. de Selding, “Disaster Monitoring Satellites Launched,” Space News, 30 September 2003; Jim Banke, “Kosmos 3M Booster Carries Six Satellites to Earth Orbit,” Space News, 29 September 2003.
In its first mission to the Moon, ESA launched its Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology (SMART-1) spacecraft aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.
SMART-1 was the first spacecraft since NASA's 1998 Lunar Prospector to attempt the journey to the Moon. ESA planned for the 770-pound (349.2-kilogram) craft, powered by an ion-propulsion engine, to reach the Moon in early 2005. SMART-1 carried 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of miniature instruments, which researchers from Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom had provided, including a color camera the size of a human eye, a 4.4-pound (2-kilogram) infrared spectrometer, and an 11-pound (5-kilogram) x-ray spectrometer. The purpose of the SMART-1 mission was to solve certain mysteries about the Moon's formation, its mineralogical composition, and the amount of water it has, if any. The Ariane 5 also carried into orbit two telecommunications satellites~the INSAT 3-E for India and the European e-BIRD. ESA had delayed the launch of e-BIRD since 28 August to allow the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to make further checks on its satellite. (Frank D. Roylance, “Europe Finally Ready for Mission to Moon,” Baltimore Sun, 29 September 2003; Agence France-Presse, “European Rocket Places Lunar Explorer, Two Satellites into Orbit,” 29 September 2003.
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