cosmos.wikisort.org - Spacecraft

Lewis was an American satellite which was to have been operated by NASA as part of the Small Satellite Technology Initiative. It carried two experimental Earth imaging instruments, and an ultraviolet astronomy payload. Due to a design flaw it failed within three days of reaching orbit, before it became operational.

Lewis

Mission type	Technology Remote sensing UV Astronomy
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1997-044A
SATCAT no.	24909
Mission duration	1-3 years (planned) 3 days (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	T200B
Manufacturer	TRW
Launch mass	288 kilograms (635 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	23 August 1997, 06:51:01 (1997-08-23UTC06:51:01Z) UTC
Rocket	LMLV-1 (Athena I)
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-6
Contractor	Lockheed Martin
End of mission
Last contact	26 August 1997 (1997-08-27)
Decay date	28 September 1997
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	124 kilometers (77 mi) Planned: 523 kilometres (325 mi)
Apogee altitude	134 kilometers (83 mi) Planned: 523 kilometres (325 mi)
Inclination	97.5 degrees
Epoch	23 August 1997, 02:51:01 UTC[1]
Instruments
HSI LEISA UCB

Lewis was a 288 kilograms (635 lb) spacecraft, which was designed to operate for between one and three years.[2] It was built by TRW under a contract which was signed on 11 July 1994.[2] Its primary instruments were the Hyperspectral Imager, the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array and the Ultraviolet Cosmic Background experiment.[3] A number of technology demonstration payloads were also flown.

Launch

Lewis was launched by a LMLV-1 (Athena I) rocket flying from Space Launch Complex 6 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.[4] The launch was originally scheduled to take place in September 1996, but it was delayed due to technical problems affecting the rocket.[5] Launch finally occurred at 06:51:01 GMT on 23 August 1997, and Lewis was successfully placed into a parking orbit with an apogee of 134 kilometres (83 mi), a perigee of 124 kilometres (77 mi), and 97.5 degrees of inclination. Lewis was to have raised itself into a higher orbit, at an altitude of 523 kilometres (325 mi).[3]

Mission failure

On 26 August, the satellite began spinning out of control at a rate of 2 rpm, which led to a loss of communications with ground controllers, and affected the ability of its solar arrays to generate power.[6] Controllers were unable to regain contact with the spacecraft,[7] and it was declared a total loss. It reentered the atmosphere at 11:58 GMT on 28 September 1997.[8] The cause of the failure was later established to be a design flaw in the spacecraft's attitude control system, which had been designed for the TOMS-EP spacecraft and was not sufficiently modified to be compatible with Lewis.[9]

See also

• 1997 in spaceflight

References

На других языках

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[de] Lewis (Satellit)

Lewis war ein experimenteller Erdbeobachtungssatellit der NASA, der am 23. August 1997 um 06:51 UTC mit einer LMLV-1-Rakete (der späteren Athena) von der Vandenberg Air Force Base in Kalifornien gestartet wurde.

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- [en] Lewis (satellite)

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[es] Lewis (satélite)

Lewis fue el nombre de un satélite artificial de la NASA lanzado el 23 de agosto de 1997 mediante un cohete Minotaur desde la base de Vandenberg. Falló poco después de entrar en órbita y reentró en la atmósfera el 28 de septiembre del mismo año.

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