Topex-Poseidon, Kitsat 1 & S80/T

Mission

Topex-Poseidon, Kitsat 1 & S80/T

• Type: Earth Science
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

The TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite was launched on 10 August 1992 with the objective of “observing and understanding the ocean circulation”. A joint project between NASA, the U.S. space agency, and CNES, the French space agency, it carries two radar altimeters and precise orbit determination systems, including the DORIS system. KITSAT-1 (Korean Institute of Technology Satellite) was a collaborative research mission, encompassing the installation of a groundstation in South Korea, participation of Korean engineers in the UoSAT-5 mission, technology transfer and training of students on the MSc courses at Surrey, and the involvement in a engineering and flight microsatellites. The S80/T satellite was built for CNES by Matra Marconi Space using the Surrey Satellite Technology Microbus (Uosat) bus.

Location

Ariane Launch Area 2

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 2 has witnessed the launch of 119 rockets, including 119 orbital launch attempts, while Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, has been the site for 320 rocket launches.

Rocket

Aérospatiale Ariane 42P

The Ariane 4 was an expendable space launch system, developed by the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arianespace. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 total launches.

Agency

Arianespace

Arianespace SA is a multinational company founded in 1980 as the world’s first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane programme. Their vehicles launch exclusively from French Guiana in South America.