San Marco 1
| San Marco 1 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Research satellite |
| Country: |
 Italy
|
| Operator: | CRS |
| COSPAR-ID : | 1964-084A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 115 kg |
| Size: | 66 cm diameter |
| Begin: | December 15, 1964, 20:24 UTC |
| Starting place: | Wallops Island LC-3A |
| Launcher: | Scout X-4 |
| Flight duration: | 9 months |
| Status: | burned up September 14, 1965 |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 94.9 min |
| Orbit inclination : | 37.8 ° |
| Apogee height : | 846 km |
| Perigee height : | 198 km |
San Marco 1 was the first Italian satellite . It was started on December 15, 1964 as part of a US-Italian cooperation from Wallops Island in the USA . The launch vehicle was provided by NASA , the launch team by the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CRS). It was the first satellite built in Western Europe and the first NASA launch with foreign personnel.
San Marco 1 was used to research the density of the atmosphere. Since the satellite was almost spherical, its air resistance only depended on the density of the atmosphere. From orbit observations one could thus deduce the density at different heights.
Four other satellites in this program were launched from the Italian San Marco platform off the coast of Kenya.
Web links
- NASA: History of San Marco (PDF, 72 pages, 7.5 MB, English)
- San Marco satellite in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ History of San Marco. (PDF; 7.5 MB) NASA, December 1968, p. 42 , accessed on December 31, 2013 (English).
- ↑ San Marco 1 in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed December 5, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Helen T. Wells, Susan H. Whiteley, Carrie E. Karegeannes: San Marco. In: Origins of NASA Names. NASA, 1976, p. 67 , accessed December 6, 2012 .
- ^ Luigi G. Jacchia, Franco Verniani: Atmospheric densities and temperatures from drag analysis of San Marco satellite. (PDF) Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory, November 12, 1965, accessed December 5, 2012 .