 HALCA after the final assembly during a solar battery check at Uchinoura | |
| Names | MUSES-B VSOP Haruka (はるか) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Astronomy |
| Operator | ISAS |
| COSPAR ID | 1997-005A |
| SATCAT no. | 24720 |
| Website | HALCA Home |
| Mission duration | 8 years, 9 months, 18 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | NEC Toshiba Space Systems |
| Launch mass | 830 kg (1,830 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.5 m × 1 m (4.9 ft × 3.3 ft) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 04:50, February 12, 1997 (UTC) |
| Rocket | M-5-1 |
| Launch site | Kagoshima M-V Pad |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Decommissioned |
| Deactivated | November 30, 2005 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Highly elliptical |
| Semi-major axis | 17,259 km (10,724 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.5999671 |
| Perigee altitude | 533.5 km (331.5 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 21,244.1 km (13,200.5 mi) |
| Inclination | 31.1880 degrees |
| Period | 376.1 minutes |
| RAAN | 127.6566 degrees |
| Argument of perigee | 143.9533 degrees |
| Mean anomaly | 358.3371 degrees |
| Mean motion | 3.82867831 rev/day |
| Epoch | 28 April 2016, 09:56:58 UTC[1] |
| Revolution no. | 26766 |
| Main telescope | |
| Type | Mesh antenna |
| Diameter | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Wavelengths | 1.3, 6, 18 cm (radio) |
HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy), also known for its project name VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme), the code name MUSES-B (for the second of the Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft series), or just Haruka (はるか)[2] was a Japanese 8 meter diameter radio telescope satellite which was used for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It was the first such space-borne dedicated VLBI mission.
- ^ "HALCA (MUSES-B) Satellite details 1997-005A NORAD 24720". N2YO. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ ""Haruka" large antenna and space VLBI (「はるか」大型アンテナとスペースVLBI)". ISAS JAXA + translate.google.com. Retrieved 2020-01-24.