Envisat

Envisat
Model of Envisat
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorESA
COSPAR ID2002-009A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.27386
Websiteenvisat.esa.int
Mission durationPlanned: 5 years
Final: 10 years, 1 month, 6 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerAstrium
Launch mass8,211 kg (18,102 lb)
Dimensions26 × 10 × 5 m (85 × 33 × 16 ft)
Power6,500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date1 March 2002, 01:07:59 (2002-03-01UTC01:07:59Z) UTC
RocketAriane 5G V-145
Launch siteKourou ELA-3
ContractorArianespace
End of mission
DisposalNone
Declared9 May 2012 (2012-05-10)
Last contact8 April 2012 (2012-04-09)
(spacecraft failure)
Decay date~150 years
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimePolar low Earth
Semi-major axis7,144.9 km (4,439.6 mi)
Eccentricity0.00042
Perigee altitude772 km (480 mi)
Apogee altitude774 km (481 mi)
Inclination98.40 degrees
Period100.16 minutes
Repeat interval35 days
Epoch15 December 2013, 03:07:00 UTC[1]
Instruments

Envisat ("Environmental Satellite") is a large Earth-observing satellite which has been inactive since 2012. It is still in orbit and considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was the world's largest civilian Earth observation satellite.[2]

It was launched on 1 March 2002 aboard an Ariane 5 from the Guyana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, into a Sun synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 790 ± 10 km. It orbits the Earth in about 101 minutes, with a repeat cycle of 35 days. After losing contact with the satellite on 8 April 2012, ESA formally announced the end of Envisat's mission on 9 May 2012.[3]

Envisat cost 2.3 billion Euro (including 300 million Euro for 5 years of operations) to develop and launch.[4] The mission has been replaced by the Sentinel series of satellites. The first of these, Sentinel 1, has taken over the radar duties of Envisat since its launch in 2014.

  1. ^ "ENVISAT Satellite details 2002-009A NORAD 27386". N2YO. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. ^ EarthNet Online
  3. ^ "ESA declares end of mission for Envisat". ESA. 9 May 2012.
  4. ^ European Space Agency web-site