LAGEOS
Sign in to savethumb|upright|The LAGEOS plaque, designed by Carl Sagan|left LAGEOS (), Laser Geodynamics Satellite or Laser Geometric Environmental Observation Survey, are a series of two scientific research satellites designed to provide an orbiting laser ranging benchmark for geodynamical studies of the Earth. Each satellite is a high-density passive laser reflector in a very stable medium Earth orbit (MEO).
Key facts
- Spaceflight.name
- LAGEOS-2
- Spaceflight.image
- Sts052-80-030 lrg.jpg
- Spaceflight.image_caption
- LAGEOS 2 during deployment on STS-52
- Spaceflight.mission_type
- Geodesy
- Spaceflight.COSPAR_ID
- 1992-070B
- Spaceflight.SATCAT
- 22195
- Spaceflight.mission_duration
- (in progress)
- Spaceflight.spacecraft_type
- LAGEOS
- Spaceflight.manufacturer
- Aeritalia for the Italian Space Agency (ASI)
- Spaceflight.dimensions
- diameter sphere
- Spaceflight.launch_date
- UTC
- Spaceflight.launch_rocket
- Space Shuttle STS-52 / Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS)
- Spaceflight.launch_site
- Kennedy LC-39B
- Spaceflight.launch_contractor
- NASA
- Spaceflight.disposal_type
- Re-Entry
- Spaceflight.decay_date
- in 8 Million years
- Spaceflight.orbit_epoch
- 5 May 2017, 07:48:20 UTC
- Spaceflight.orbit_reference
- Geocentric
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Function and operation
- Mission goals
- Time capsule
- Launch data
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|upright|The LAGEOS plaque, designed by Carl Sagan|left LAGEOS (), Laser Geodynamics Satellite or Laser Geometric Environmental Observation Survey, are a series of two scientific research satellites designed to provide an orbiting laser ranging benchmark for geodynamical studies of the Earth. Each satellite is a high-density passive laser reflector in a very stable medium Earth orbit (MEO).
== Function and operation == The spacecraft are aluminum-covered brass spheres with diameters of and masses of , covered with 426 cube-corner retroreflectors, giving them the appearance of disco balls. Of these retroreflectors, 422 are made from fused silica glass while the remaining 4 are made from germanium to obtain measurements in the infrared for experimental studies of reflectivity and satellite orientation. They have no on-board sensors or electronics, and are not attitude-controlled.