Alouette 2 (satellite)
| Alouette 2 (Alouette B) | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Research satellite |
| Country: |
 Canada
|
| Operator: | CDRB |
| COSPAR-ID : | 1965-098A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 145 kg |
| Begin: | November 29, 1965, 04:48 UTC |
| Starting place: | Vandenberg AFB SLC-2E |
| Launcher: | Thor-Agena B. |
| Status: | out of service since 1975 |
| Path data0 | |
| Rotation time : | 117.9 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 79.8 ° |
| Apogee height : | 2666 km |
| Perigee height : | 503 km |
Alouette 2 is a Canadian research satellite. This is a replacement for Alouette 1 , Canada's first satellite, which was launched in September 1962.
Like Alouette 1, Alouette 2 was brought into space by a US rocket from NASA from the Vandenberg launch site in California . The launch took place together with the Explorer 31 research satellite . In contrast to Alouette 1, however, Alouette 2's orbit was highly elliptical. Compared to Alouette 1, one of the two antennas had been lengthened from 46 to 73 m and the satellite set in a faster rotation of 2.25 revolutions per minute, because the rotation speed of Alouette 1 had decreased unexpectedly quickly.
Alouette 2's task was to explore the ionosphere . The satellite did not have a data memory, so that the measured values could only be transmitted when it was within sight of a ground station. The results were correlated with those of Explorer 31. At first, data could be recorded 8 hours a day, later the time was reduced to 30 minutes a day due to energy problems. In July 1975 the satellite was taken out of service and only on 28/29. November 1975 briefly switched on again for its 10th anniversary.
Web links
- Alouette 2 in the NSSDCA Master Catalog (English)
- Launching the Alouette 2 (English, with video)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alouette in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on June 1, 2012 (English).