Names | GRAB 3 SOLar RADiation 4 SR 4 GREB 3 |
---|---|
Mission type | Solar X-Rays |
Operator | United States Naval Research Laboratory (USNRL) |
COSPAR ID | 1962-F02 (SR4GREB) |
Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | SOLRAD |
Manufacturer | Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) |
Launch mass | 25 kg (55 lb) |
Dimensions | 51 cm (20 in) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 24 January 1962, 09:30 GMT |
Rocket | Thor-Ablestar |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B |
Contractor | Douglas Aircraft Company |
End of mission | |
Decay date | Failed to orbit |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 930 km |
Apogee altitude | 930 km |
Inclination | 66.80° |
Period | 103.00 minutes |
SOLRAD (SOLar RADiation) 4 was a solar X-rays, ultraviolet, and electronic surveillance satellite. Developed by the United States Navy's United States Naval Research Laboratory (USNRL), it was the fourth in both the SOLRAD and the GRAB (Galactic Radiation and Background) programs.
The satellite was to be orbited along with ionospheric study satellite LOFTI-2, the United States Army's range calibration satellite SECOR, Navy surveillance calibration satellite Surcal, and the University of Iowa's Van Allen radiation belts-studying Injun 2 satellite. This unprecedented five-in-one mission, called "Composite 1" and "Buckshot", ended in failure on 24 January 1962 after its Thor-Ablestar's second stage failed to deliver the payloads to orbit.
The United States Navy's United States Naval Research Laboratory (USNRL) established itself as a player early in the Space Race with the development and management of Project Vanguard (1956–1959), [1] America's first satellite program. After Vanguard, the Navy's next major goal was to use the observational high ground of Earth's orbit to survey Soviet radar locations and frequencies. This first space surveillance project was called "GRAB", later expanded into the more innocuous backronym, Galactic Radiation And Background. [2] As American space launches were not classified until late 1961, [3] [4] a cover mission sharing the satellite bus was desired to conceal GRAB's electronic surveillance mission from its intended targets. [2]
The field of solar astronomy provided such cover. Since the invention of the rocket, astronomers had wanted to fly instruments above the atmosphere to get a better look at the Sun. The Earth's atmosphere blocks large sections of sunlight's electromagnetic spectrum, making it impossible to study the Sun's X-ray and ultraviolet output from the ground. Without this critical information, it was difficult to model the Sun's internal processes, which in turn inhibited stellar astronomy in general. [5] : 5–6 On a more practical level, it was believed that solar flares directly affected the Earth's thermosphere, disrupting radio communications. The U.S. Navy wanted to know when its communications were going to become unreliable or compromised. [2] Sounding rockets had shown that solar output was unpredictable and fluctuated rapidly. A long-term, real-time observation platform above the Earth's atmosphere – in other words, a satellite – was required to properly chart the Sun's radiation, determine its effects on the Earth, and correlate it with ground-based observations of the Sun in other wavelengths of light. [5] : 63
Thus, the SOLRAD project was conceived to address several NRL goals at once:
SOLRAD 4 had two successful predecessors in SOLRAD 1 and SOLRAD 3, both of which made significant contributions to the understanding of ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy in the previous two years, [5] : 64–68 and which returned an abundance of intelligence on Soviet air defense radar installations. [9]
Like its predecessors, SOLRAD 4 was roughly spherical, modeled on the Vanguard satellite (which also had been developed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory), and included both the scientific SOLRAD and the electronic surveillance GRAB packages within the same satellite. Mass of 25 kg, [10] the fourth in the SOLRAD series was more heavily instrumented than prior SOLRADS. Instead of one X-ray photometer, like SOLRAD 1 and SOLRAD 2, or two, like SOLRAD 3, it carried four X-ray photometers, allowing it to detect more intense and higher energy X-rays. Three of the photometers were shielded against Van Allen radiation belts (which could spoil results) by magnets, as had been done on earlier missions. The fourth was protected by a beryllium shield. It was hoped that SOLRAD 4 would not only conduct basic research into solar X-ray astronomy, but also determine the hazard hard X-rays posed to astronauts and satellites. [11]
Another point of difference between SOLRAD 4 and its predecessors was its four Lyman-alpha detectors. [11] Used for measuring ultraviolet radiation, two such detectors had been included on SOLRAD 1 and SOLRAD 2 to determine the impact of solar ultraviolet on radio reception. [12] None had been measured, and the detectors had been deleted from SOLRAD 3. They were reinstated on SOLRAD 4 not for solar study, but for night-time measurement to see if ambient Lyman-alpha radiation constituted a threat to astronauts and satellites. [11]
On 24 January 1962 at 09:30 GMT, [13] SOLRAD 4 was launched via Thor-Ablestar [10] from Cape Canaveral LC-17B [13] along with ionospheric study satellite LOFTI 2, the United States Army's range calibration satellite SECOR, Navy surveillance calibration satellite SURCAL, and the University of Iowa's Van Allen radiation belts-studying Injun 2 satellite. This unprecedented five-in-one mission, called "Composite 1" and "Buckshot", ended in failure: the Thor first stage performed properly, but the Ablestar second stage developed insufficient velocity to attain orbit. While the exact cause was not immediately known, there were indications that the Ablestar had not separated cleanly from the Thor stage, instead tumbling end over end. [14] The estimated cost of the lost rocket and payload was US$3.5 million. [15]
The SOLRAD/GRAB series flew once more (unsuccessfully), finishing with the SOLRAD 4B mission launched 26 April 1962. [2] In 1962, all U.S. overhead reconnaissance projects were consolidated under the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which elected to continue and expand the GRAB mission starting July 1962 [16] with a next-generation set of satellites, code-named POPPY. [10] With the initiation of POPPY, SOLRAD experiments would no longer be carried on electronic spy satellites; rather, they would now get their own satellites, launched alongside POPPY missions to provide some measure of mission cover. [13] Starting with SOLRAD 8, launched in November 1965, the final five SOLRAD satellites were scientific satellites launched singly, three of which were also given NASA Explorer program numbers. The last in this final series of SOLRAD satellites flew in 1976. In all, there were thirteen operational satellites in the SOLRAD series. [2] The GRAB program was declassified in 1998. [9]
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that measured incoming X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. These measurements specifically addressed long-term climate change, natural variability, atmospheric ozone, and UV-B radiation, enhancing climate prediction. These measurements are critical to studies of the Sun, its effect on the Earth's system, and its influence on humankind. SORCE was launched on 25 January 2003 on a Pegasus XL launch vehicle to provide NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) with precise measurements of solar radiation.
Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB) was the first successful United States orbital surveillance program, comprising a series of five Naval Research Laboratory electronic surveillance and solar astronomy satellites, launched from 1960 to 1962. Though only two of the five satellites made it into orbit, they returned a wealth of information on Soviet air defense radar capabilities as well as useful astronomical observations of the Sun.
Thor was a US space launch vehicle derived from the PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Thor rocket was the first member of the Delta rocket family of space launch vehicles. The last launch of a direct derivative of the Thor missile occurred in 2018 as the first stage of the final Delta II.
SOLRAD was an American series of satellites sponsored by the US Navy in a program to continuously monitor the Sun. SOLRAD was the Naval Research Laboratory's first post-Vanguard satellite.
SOLRAD 4B was a solar X-ray, ultraviolet, and electronic surveillance satellite. Developed by the United States Navy's United States Naval Research Laboratory, it was the fifth in both the SOLRAD and the GRAB programs.
An X-ray astronomy satellite studies X-ray emissions from celestial objects, as part of a branch of space science known as X-ray astronomy. Satellites are needed because X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites.
TD-1A, or Thor-Delta 1A, was a European astrophysical research satellite which was launched in 1972. Operated by the European Space Research Organisation, TD-1A made astronomical surveys primarily in the ultraviolet, but also using x-ray and gamma ray detectors.
OSCAR 3 is the third amateur radio satellite launched by Project OSCAR into Low Earth Orbit. OSCAR 3 was launched March 9, 1965 by a Thor-DM21 Agena D launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. The satellite, massing 15 kg (33 lb), was launched piggyback with seven United States Air Force satellites. Though the satellite's active life was limited to sixteen days due to battery failure, OSCAR 3 relayed 176 messages from 98 stations in North America and Europe during its 274 orbit life-time -- the first amateur satellite to relay signals from Earth. As of 2023, it is still in orbit.
The SOLRAD 8,Explorer 30 or SE-A satellite was one of the NASA SOLRAD program that began in 1960 to provide continuous coverage of solar radiation with a set of standard photometers. SOLRAD 8 was a spin-stabilized satellite oriented with its spin axis perpendicular to the sun-satellite line so that the 14 solar X-ray and ultraviolet photometers pointing radially outward from its equatorial belt viewed the sun on each revolution. Data were transmitted in real time by means of an FM / AM the satellite's telemetry system and were recorded by the stations on the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network (STADAN) tracking network.
Vanguard TV-5, also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Five, was a failed flight of the American Vanguard rocket following the successful launch of Vanguard 1 on Vanguard TV-4. Vanguard TV-5 launched on 29 April 1958 at 02:53:00 GMT, from Launch Complex 18A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket was unsuccessful in its attempt to place an unnamed satellite into orbit.
Student Nitric Oxide Explorer, was a NASA small scientific satellite which studied the concentration of nitric oxide in the thermosphere. It was launched in 1998 as part of NASA's Explorer program. The satellite was the first of three missions developed within the Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative (STEDI) program funded by the NASA and managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). STEDI was a pilot program to demonstrate that high-quality space science can be carried out with small, low-cost free-flying satellites on a time scale of two years from go-ahead to launch. The satellite was developed by the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and had met its goals by the time its mission ended with reentry in December 2003.
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