VesselSat-2 (aka Orbcomm FM43, V2) was a Luxembourgian microsatellite built and owned by LuxSpace, and operated by Orbcomm under lease. It carried a receiver for Automatic Identification System signals, used to track ships at sea. VesselSat-2 was the second of two VesselSat spacecraft (see VesselSat-1), which were built by LuxSpace for Orbcomm, as replacements for the AIS capabilities of the failed Orbcomm-QL spacecraft.[1]
Mission type | Ship tracking |
---|---|
Operator | LuxSpace (lessor) Orbcomm (operator) |
COSPAR ID | 2012-001B ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 38047 |
Mission duration | Planned: 3 years Achieved: 4 years |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | LuxSpace |
Launch mass | 29 kilograms (64 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 9 January 2012, 03:17 (2012-01-09UTC03:17Z) UTC |
Rocket | Chang Zheng 4B Y26 |
Launch site | Taiyuan LC-9 |
End of mission | |
Last contact | January 2016 (2016-02)[1] |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 472 kilometres (293 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 484 kilometres (301 mi) |
Inclination | 97.43 degrees |
Period | 94.02 minutes |
Epoch | 31 October 2013, 18:34:19 UTC[2] |
VesselSat-2 was launched as a secondary payload on a Long March 4B carrier rocket which was carrying Ziyuan 3. The launch occurred at 03:17 UTC on 9 January 2012,[3] from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, and was the first orbital launch of the year.[4]
← 2011 · Orbital launches in 2012 · 2013 → | |
---|---|
Ziyuan III-01 · VesselSat-2 | Fengyun 2-07 | USA-233 | Progress M-14M | Navid | LARES · ALMASat-1 · Xatcobeo · UniCubeSat-GG · ROBUSTA · e-st@r · Goliat · MaSat-1 · PW-Sat | SES-4 | Compass-G5 | MUOS-1 | Edoardo Amaldi ATV | Intelsat 22 | Kosmos 2479 | Apstar 7 | USA-234 | Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 | Progress M-15M | YahSat-1B | RISAT-1 | Compass-M3 · Compass-M4 | USA-235 | Tianhui 1B | Yaogan 14 · Tiantuo 1 | Soyuz TMA-04M | JCSAT-13 · Vinasat-2 | Kosmos 2480 | Shizuku · Kompsat 3 · SDS-4 · Horyu 2 | Nimiq 6 | SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 · New Frontier | Fajr | ChinaSat 2A | Yaogan 15 | Intelsat 19 | NuSTAR | Shenzhou 9 | USA-236 | USA-237 | EchoStar XVII · MSG-3 | SES-5 | Soyuz TMA-05M | Kounotori 3 (Raiko · We-Wish · Niwaka · TechEdSat · F-1) | Kanopus-V1 · BelKA-2 · Zond-PP · TET-1 · exactView-1 | Tianlian I-03 | Gonets-M No.3 · Gonets-M No.4 · Kosmos 2481 · MiR | Progress M-16M (Sfera-53) | Intelsat 20 · HYLAS 2 | Telkom-3 · Ekspress-MD2 | Intelsat 21 | RBSP-A · RBSP-B | SPOT 6 · PROITERES · mRESINS | USA-238 · SMDC-ONE 1.1 · SMDC-ONE 1.2 · AeroCube 4 · AeroCube 4A · AeroCube 4B · Aeneas · Re · CSSWE · CP5 · CXBN · CINEMA 1 | MetOp-B | Compass-M5 · Compass-M6 | Astra 2F · GSAT-10 | VRSS-1 | USA-239 | SpaceX CRS-1 · Orbcomm-2 | David · Sif | Shijian IX-01 · Shijian IX-02 | Intelsat 23 | Soyuz TMA-06M | Compass G6 | Progress M-17M | Luch 5B · Yamal-300K | Eutelsat 21B · Star One C3 | Meridian 6 | Huanjing 1C · Xinyan 1 · Fengniao 1 (Fengniao 1A) | EchoStar XVI | Yaogan 16A · Yaogan 16B · Yaogan 16C | ChinaSat 12 | Pléiades-HR 1B | Eutelsat 70B | Yamal-402 | USA-240 | Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 | Göktürk-2 | Soyuz TMA-07M | Skynet 5D · Mexsat Bicentenario | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |
![]() | This article about one or more spacecraft of Luxembourg is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |