About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 30. Chapters: CONTOUR, Vanguard TV3, Cosmos 1, Cluster, Orbiting Carbon Observatory, Glory, Ariane 5 Flight 501, Polyus, Kwangmy ngs ng-1, GPS IIR-1, STSAT-2B, GSAT-4, Orion 3, GSAT-5P, STSAT-2A, Kosmos 2470, CryoSat-1, Discoverer 34, TDRS-B, Intelsat 708, NanoSail-D, Explorer 33, FTV-2203, Astra 1K, Explorer-1 Prime, Explorer 2, Discoverer 27, FalconSAT-2, Discoverer 24, Discoverer 37, Discoverer 16, Discoverer 28, Discoverer 22, Samos 4, Discoverer 33, Rincon 1, Samos 3, DOS-2, SACRED, S-45A, SACI-2, GOES-G, Mercury, NSS-8, Foton-M1, Trailblazer, Orba, Explorer 5, Landsat 6, PRESat, Sphinx. Excerpt: Cluster is a space mission of the European Space Agency, with NASA participation, to study the Earth's magnetosphere over the course of an entire solar cycle. The mission is composed of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. The four Cluster spacecraft were successfully launched by pair in July and August 2000 onboard two Soyuz-Fregat rockets from Baikonur. In February 2011, Cluster celebrated 10 years of successful scientific operations in space. The mission has been extended until December 2012. China National Space Administration/ESA Double Star mission operated alongside Cluster from 2003 to 2007. The four identical Cluster satellites study the impact of the Sun's activity on the Earth's space environment by flying in formation around Earth. For the first time in space history, this mission is able to collect three-dimensional information on how the solar wind interacts with the magnetosphere and affects near-Earth space and its atmosphere, including aurorae. The satellites are named Rumba Salsa, Samba and Tango but are more commonly called Cluster 1, Cluster 2, Cluster 3 and Cluster 4 or even C1, C2, C3 and C4. The spacecraft are cylindrical (290 x 130 cm, see online 3D model) and are spin-stabilized at 15...
