Geosat Follow-On
| Geosat Follow On | |
|---|---|
_Satellite.jpg)
|
|
| Type: | Earth observation satellite |
| Country: |
 United States
|
| Operator: | US Navy |
| COSPAR-ID : | 1998-007A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 410 kg |
| Size: | 3 m high |
| Begin: | February 10, 1998, 13:20 UTC |
| Starting place: | Vandenberg AFB , LC-576E |
| Launcher: | Taurus-2210 |
| Status: | shut down on November 25, 2008 |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 101.4 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 108 ° |
| Apogee height : | 881 km |
| Perigee height : | 789 km |
Geosat Follow-On ( GFO ) is an Earth observation satellite, the US Navy , with a radar - altimeter is equipped and satellite geodesy and the ocean topography is used.
The satellite was launched together with two Orbcomm satellites and a Celestis space funeral capsule on February 10, 1998 with a Taurus-2210 rocket from Vandenberg AFB into a polar earth orbit (789 × 881 km, 108 °). GFO is the successor to Geosat .
Structure of the satellite
The satellite was built on the basis of Ball Aerospace's BCP-600 satellite model. GFO has no moving elements - both the solar cell surface and the altimeter antenna are permanently mounted.
Four instruments are on board:
- The radar altimeter provides a vertical resolution of approximately three centimeters.
- A microwave - radiometer to measure water vapor
- GPS receiver for precise orbit determination
- Doppler - tracking device also for precise orbit determination
mission
After launch, the satellite underwent a lengthy calibration phase, and finally it was accepted by the US Navy on November 29, 2000. Like its predecessor Geosat, the GFO satellite is in orbit with a 17-day repetition cycle.
The measurement data obtained by GFO will be combined and evaluated together with data from TOPEX / Poseidon and its successor Jason-1 and the European missions ERS-2 and Envisat .
GFO was scheduled to be shut down on December 31, 2008, but the condition of the satellite had already deteriorated so much earlier that it was decommissioned on November 25, 2008. Previously, the orbit had been lowered to allow an earlier re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
A planned successor satellite , GFO 2 , should carry a radar altimeter that works in two frequency bands . The start was planned for 2014. However, the procurement of the satellite was postponed until the 2016 budget year. The mission has since been canceled.
Web links
- Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry / Geosat Follow-On ( Memento from September 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- Gunter's Space Page: GFO (English)
- NASA: WFF Geosat Follow-On (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Geosat Follow-On (GFO). (No longer available online.) Federation of American Scientists, July 6, 1999, archived from original ; accessed on October 30, 2010 (English).
- ↑ Angela L. Monheim, Lance Pritikin, Greg Mayer, Gerardo San Juan, RyanPalmer, Kevin Miller, Scott Mitchell, Michael Weiss et al .: GFO: Disposal of a Power-Challenged Satellite with an Attitude (Control) Problem ( Memento from 8 July 2011 in the Internet Archive ) , AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference & Exposition. Pasadena, California.
- ^ Ball Aerospace: Ball Aerospace Wins Contract for Navy's GFO-2 Altimetry Satellite
- ↑ Senate Hearing 112-590, Part 7: Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2013 And The Future Years Defense Program ; 2012