Astrid (satellites)
Encyclopedia
Astrid-1 and Astrid-2 were two microsatellites designed and developed by Swedish Space Corporation
on behalf of the Swedish National Space Board
. They were piggyback launched on a Cosmos-3M
launch vehicle from Plesetsk
, Russia
. Astrid 1 on January 24, 1995 and Astrid 2 on December 10, 1998.
.
It carried an Energetic Neutral Atom
imager called PIPPI (Prelude in Planetary Particle Imaging), an Electron
Spectrometer
called EMIL (Electron Measurements - In-situ and Lightweight) and two UV imager
s called MIO (Miniature Imaging Optics), one for imaging the Earth's aurora
and one for observing Lyman alpha
-emission from the Earth's geocorona
. This payload, named after characters in Astrid Lindgren
's books (the idea came from a Russia
n scientist ), was developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics
in Kiruna
.
On March 1, a DC to DC converter
for the scientific instruments failed, possibly due to a short circuit
, ending its scientific mission. However, the satellite remained in orbit until September 27, serving as a testbed for various software algorithms
and store-and-forward communications.
The entire satellite was built in a year and the cost, including launch, was 1.4 million U.S. dollars.
Its payload, built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics
in Kiruna
and Uppsala
and the Royal Institute of Technology
(Alfven Laboratory) in Stockholm
, was EMMA (Electrical and Magnetic field Monitoring of the Aurora), LINDA (Langmuir INterferometer and Density experiment for Astrid-2), MEDUSA (Miniaturized Electrostatic DUal-tophat Spherical Analyzer) and PIA (Photometers for Imaging the Aurora). It was used to explore the electric
and magnetic field
s in the upper ionosphere
and to measure neutral
and charged particles and electron
density.
Swedish Space Corporation
The Swedish Space Corporation is a comprehensive space company covering the entire field, from the definition of innovative business concepts and space projects to the development, tests and operation of the systems....
on behalf of the Swedish National Space Board
Swedish National Space Board
The Swedish National Space Board is a Swedish government agency operating under the Swedish Ministry of Education and Science. SNSB distributes government grants to research and development, initiates research and development in space and remote sensing, and is the Swedish contact in international...
. They were piggyback launched on a Cosmos-3M
Cosmos-3M
The Kosmos-3M is a Russian space launch vehicle. It is a liquid-fueled two-stage rocket, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 successful launches to its name. The Cosmos 3M uses nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidizer to lift roughly 1400 kg of payload into orbit...
launch vehicle from Plesetsk
Plesetsk
Plesetsk is an urban locality Plesetsk is an urban locality Plesetsk is an urban locality (a work settlement and the administrative center of Plesetsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated about northeast of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk. Municipally, it is the administrative...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Astrid 1 on January 24, 1995 and Astrid 2 on December 10, 1998.
Astrid-1
Sweden's first microsatellite was piggybacked with the launch of Tsikada, a Russian navigation satellite and FAISAT, a US communications satelliteCommunications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
.
It carried an Energetic Neutral Atom
Neutral particle
In physics, a neutral particle is a particle with no electric charge. This is not to be confused with a real neutral particle, a neutral particle that is also identical to its own antiparticle.-Stable or long-lived neutral particles:...
imager called PIPPI (Prelude in Planetary Particle Imaging), an Electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
Spectrometer
Spectrometer
A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...
called EMIL (Electron Measurements - In-situ and Lightweight) and two UV imager
Electronic imager
An electronic imager is an electronic device that detects electromagnetic radiation with spatial resolution. It is the electronic analog of the photographic plate or film. Common applications are digital photography and astrophotography....
s called MIO (Miniature Imaging Optics), one for imaging the Earth's aurora
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
and one for observing Lyman alpha
Lyman series
In physics and chemistry, the Lyman series is the series of transitions and resulting ultraviolet emission lines of the hydrogen atom as an electron goes from n ≥ 2 to n = 1...
-emission from the Earth's geocorona
Geocorona
The geocorona is the luminous part of the outermost region of the Earth's atmosphere, the exosphere. It is seen primarily via far-ultraviolet light from the Sun that is scattered from neutral hydrogen. It extends to at least 15.5 Earth radii...
. This payload, named after characters in Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
's books (the idea came from a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n scientist ), was developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics or Institutet för rymdfysik is a Swedish government agency. The institute's primary task is to carry out basic research, education and associated observatory activities in space physics, space technology and atmospheric physics.-Foundation:The IRF was founded...
in Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
.
On March 1, a DC to DC converter
DC to DC converter
A DC-to-DC converter is an electronic circuit which converts a source of direct current from one voltage level to another. It is a class of power converter.- Usage :...
for the scientific instruments failed, possibly due to a short circuit
Short circuit
A short circuit in an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no electrical impedance is encountered....
, ending its scientific mission. However, the satellite remained in orbit until September 27, serving as a testbed for various software algorithms
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
and store-and-forward communications.
The entire satellite was built in a year and the cost, including launch, was 1.4 million U.S. dollars.
Astrid-2
Astrid-2 was Sweden's second microsatellite and it was piggybacked with Nadezhda 5, a Russian navigation satellite.Its payload, built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics or Institutet för rymdfysik is a Swedish government agency. The institute's primary task is to carry out basic research, education and associated observatory activities in space physics, space technology and atmospheric physics.-Foundation:The IRF was founded...
in Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
and Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
and the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
(Alfven Laboratory) in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, was EMMA (Electrical and Magnetic field Monitoring of the Aurora), LINDA (Langmuir INterferometer and Density experiment for Astrid-2), MEDUSA (Miniaturized Electrostatic DUal-tophat Spherical Analyzer) and PIA (Photometers for Imaging the Aurora). It was used to explore the electric
Electric field
In physics, an electric field surrounds electrically charged particles and time-varying magnetic fields. The electric field depicts the force exerted on other electrically charged objects by the electrically charged particle the field is surrounding...
and magnetic field
Magnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
s in the upper ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
and to measure neutral
Neutral particle
In physics, a neutral particle is a particle with no electric charge. This is not to be confused with a real neutral particle, a neutral particle that is also identical to its own antiparticle.-Stable or long-lived neutral particles:...
and charged particles and electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
density.
External links
- Astrid-1 at Swedish Space Corporation
- Astrid-2 at Swedish Space Corporation
- Astrid-1 Quicklook from NASA's Mission and Spacecraft LibraryMission and Spacecraft LibraryMission and Spacecraft Library is a reference web site, maintained by NASA, containing information about satellites. It contains a catalog of several hundreds of satellites from different countries. The site was originally founded by JPL-employee Mike Evans, who had a vision of building a database...
- Astrid-2 Quicklook from NASA's Mission and Spacecraft LibraryMission and Spacecraft LibraryMission and Spacecraft Library is a reference web site, maintained by NASA, containing information about satellites. It contains a catalog of several hundreds of satellites from different countries. The site was originally founded by JPL-employee Mike Evans, who had a vision of building a database...
- Astrid-1 at Astronautix
- Astrid-2 at Astronautix
- Energetic Neutral Atom Imaging By The Astrid Microsatellite