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Firewheel Subsats 1, 2, 3, 4
Firewheel Subsat [MPE]
The Firewheel subsatellites would have been ejected from Firewheel (FIRE-A), and carried diagnostic instruments for observation of the ion releases in the night magnetosphere. The spacecraft were battery-operated, with a lifetime of less than 48 hours. The instruments would have measured the charged particle distributions and the local vector magnetic field.
| Nation: | Germany, USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Research |
| Operator: | |
| Contractors: | |
| Equipment: | ? |
| Configuration: | |
| Propulsion: | ? |
| Power: | Batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | 49 kg (#1), 48 kg (#2), 50 kg (#3), 53 kg (#4) |
| Orbit: |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firewheel Subsat 1 (FIRE E, MPE Sub-Payload) | 1980-F01 | 23.05.1980 | Ko ELA-1 | F | Ariane-1 | with Firewheel, Firewheel Subsat 2, 3, 4, AMSAT P3A, CAT 2 |
| Firewheel Subsat 2 (FIRE B, SRC Sub-Payload) | 1980-F01 | 23.05.1980 | Ko ELA-1 | F | Ariane-1 | with Firewheel, Firewheel Subsat 1, 3, 4, AMSAT P3A, CAT 2 |
| Firewheel Subsat 3 (FIRE C, UCB Sub-Payload) | 1980-F01 | 23.05.1980 | Ko ELA-1 | F | Ariane-1 | with Firewheel, Firewheel Subsat 1, 2, 4, AMSAT P3A, CAT 2 |
| Firewheel Subsat 4 (FIRE D, NRC Sub-Payload) | 1980-F01 | 23.05.1980 | Ko ELA-1 | F | Ariane-1 | with Firewheel, Firewheel Subsat 1, 2, 3, AMSAT P3A, CAT 2 |
References:
- MPE: Space Plasma Physics – Firewheel
- MPE: Feuerrad
Further Firewheel missions:
