Earlybird 1 [OSC]
EarlyBird 1, a remote sensing satellite built by CTA Space Systems (now part of Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)) for EarthWatch, Inc., was to provide high resolution commercial imagery. EarthWatch planed to offer black-and-white images with a resolution as high as 3 meters per pixel, and color images with a resolution of 15 meters per pixel. The imaging sensor was derived from NASA's cancelled Clark satellite.
A Russian Start-1 rocket, a version of the SS-25 ICBM, carried the satellite into orbit from the Svobodny cosmodrome in eastern Russia. While the launch went well, placing the satellite into a nearly circular orbit, contact was lost with the satellite four days after launch.
EarthWatch has announced that contact was lost with the satellite on 28 December 1997.
Nation: | USA |
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Type / Application: | Earth observation |
Operator: | Earthwatch Inc. |
Contractors: | CTA → Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) (bus); Earthwatch (payload) |
Equipment: | 3-meter panchromatic camera, 15-meter multispectral camera |
Configuration: | |
Propulsion: | ? |
Power: | Deployable fixed solar array, batteries |
Lifetime: | 3 years (design); 5 years (fuel) |
Mass: | 317 kg |
Orbit: | 480 km × 488 km, 97.30° |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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Earlybird 1 | 1997-085A | 24.12.1997 | Sv LC-5 | Start-1 | ||
Earlybird 2 | - | cancelled |