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PAGEOS (PAssive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite) was a balloon satellite which was launched by NASA in June 1966.[2]

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Passive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (PAGEOS)

Names	PAGEOS-A
Operator	NASA Office of Space Applications
COSPAR ID	1966-056A
SATCAT no.	02253
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	56.7 kg (125 lb)
Dimensions	30.48 m (100.0 ft) diameter
Start of mission
Launch date	00:14:00, June 24, 1966 (UTC) (1966-06-24T00:14:00Z)
Rocket	Thrust augmented Thor-Agena D
Launch site	Vandenberg AFB
End of mission
Destroyed	partially disintegrated July 1975 (1975-07)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric[1]
Eccentricity	0.00301
Perigee altitude	4,207 km (2,614 mi)
Apogee altitude	4,271 km (2,654 mi)
Inclination	87.14°
Period	181.43 min
Epoch	24 June 1966

Design

PAGEOS had a diameter of exactly 100 feet (30.48 m), consisted of a 0.5 mils (12.7 μm) thick mylar plastic film coated with vapour deposited aluminium enclosing a volume of 524,000 cubic feet (14,800 m³) and was used for the Weltnetz der Satellitentriangulation (Worldwide Satellite Triangulation Network) – a global cooperation organized by Hellmut Schmid (Switzerland & USA) 1969-1973.

Finished in 1974, the network connected 46 stations (3000–5000 km distance) of all continents with an accuracy of 3–5 m (approx. 20 times better than terrestrial triangulations at that time).

Orbit

The PAGEOS spacecraft was placed into a polar orbit (inclination 85–86°) with a height of approx. 4000 km, which had gradually lowered during its 9 years of operation. The satellite partly disintegrated in July 1975, which was followed by a second break-up that occurred in January 1976 resulting in the release of a large number of fragments. Most of these re-entered during the following decade.[3] PAGEOS data have been released in 11 data sets.[4]

PAGEOS' predecessors in satellite triangulation were the balloons Echo 1 (1960, 30 m) and Echo 2 (1964, 40 m) which were also used for passive telecommunication. Their apparent magnitude (brightness) was 1 mag, that of Pageos 2 mag (like Polaris) due to its higher orbit. Pageos could therefore be observed simultaneously e.g. from the ground in places such as Europe and North America. PAGEOS appeared as a slow-moving star (at first glance it would appear to be stationary). Its orbital period was approximately three hours. Because of its high orbit and polar inclination it would avoid the Earth's shadow and be observed any time of the night (low-orbit satellites are only observable shortly after sunset and before sunrise). In the early 1970s PAGEOS varied from 2nd apparent magnitude to beyond visibility over a period of a few minutes.

In 2016, one of the largest fragments of PAGEOS de-orbited.[5]

See also

• List of passive satellites
• Reference ellipsoid
• World Geodetic System (WGS84)

References

External links

• NASA technical note: The fabrication and testing of PAGEOS I

На других языках

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[de] PAGEOS

Der geodätische Satellit PAGEOS (Abk. für Passive Geodetic Satellite) war ein großer Ballonsatellit, der 1966 für Zwecke des Satelliten-Weltnetzes gestartet wurde.

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- [en] PAGEOS

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[ru] PAGEOS

PAGEOS (англ. PAssive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite — пассивный геодезический спутник Земли) — искусственный спутник-баллон, выведенный на орбиту NASA в июне 1966 года. Pageos представлял собой сферу из тонкой (0,0127 мм) алюминированной полимерной плёнки диаметром 31 метр. Масса — 56 кг. Спутник использовался для наблюдений по программе мировой сети спутниковой триангуляции Weltnetz der Satellitentriangulation (Worldwide Satellite Triangulation Network) — совместной программе США и Швейцарии, работавшей в 1969—1973.

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