 The ERBS spacecraft | |||||||
| Mission type | Earth observation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | NASA | ||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1984-108B | ||||||
| SATCAT no. | 15354 | ||||||
| Website | https://science.nasa.gov/missions/erbs | ||||||
| Mission duration | Final: 38 years, 3 months, 3 days | ||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace | ||||||
| Launch mass | 2,449 kg (5,399 lb)[1] | ||||||
| Dry mass | 2,307 kg (5,086 lb)[2] | ||||||
| Dimensions | 4.6 × 3.5 × 1.5 m (15.1 × 11.5 × 4.9 ft) | ||||||
| Power | 470 watts | ||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||
| Launch date | 5 October 1984, 22:18 UTC | ||||||
| Rocket | Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-G) | ||||||
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A | ||||||
| End of mission | |||||||
| Disposal | Uncontrolled Re-Entry | ||||||
| Deactivated | 14 October 2005 | ||||||
| Decay date | January 8, 2023 | ||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||
| Regime | Low Earth | ||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.00194 | ||||||
| Perigee altitude | 572 km (355 mi) | ||||||
| Apogee altitude | 599 km (372 mi) | ||||||
| Inclination | 56.9 deg | ||||||
| Period | 96.4 min | ||||||
| Epoch | 5 October 1984[3] | ||||||
| |||||||
The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was a NASA scientific research satellite. The satellite was one of three satellites in NASA's research program, named Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), to investigate the Earth's radiation budget. The satellite also carried an instrument that studied stratospheric aerosol and gases.
ERBS was launched on October 5, 1984, by the Space Shuttle Challenger during the STS-41-G mission and deactivated on October 14, 2005.[4] It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on January 8, 2023, over the Bering Sea near the Aleutian Islands.[5][6] NASA's CERES instruments have continued the ERB data record after 1997.
- ^ "ERBS". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
- ^ "ERBS (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite)". Earth Observation Portal Directory. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
- ^ "Trajectory Details: ERBS". National Space Science Data Center. NASA. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Twenty-five Years After ERBS and SAGE II: The Life, Data and Death of a Satellite Mission". Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Atkinson, Joe (January 6, 2023). "Retired NASA Earth Radiation Budget Satellite Reenters Atmosphere". NASA.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (January 7, 2023). "Defunct NASA satellite reenters". Space News.