(11.10.2002)
Can You identify?
SPHINX (Space Plasma High-Voltage Interaction Experiment) was a
self-contained satellite which was designed to obtain engineering data necessary to design
high-voltage systems that could be exposed directly to a space environment. For this
project, a single satellite launch was planned. During ascent, the Sphinx spacecraft was
to be supported on top of the Viking Dynamic Simulator (VDS), the prime payload for this
flight. The Sphinx satellite was to be ejected from the VDS at a velocity greater than two
feet per sec and at a spin rate of approximately 30 rpm. The satellite would have been
positioned initially so that the spin vector was toward the sun. The release of the sphinx
was to be after the third burn of the Centaur, and was controlled by the Centaur event
timer. The following specific areas were to be investigated:
The spacecraft failed to achieve orbit following launch due to Centaur second stage malfunction. This satellite was correctly identified by: |