 Seasat | |||||||||||||||
| Mission type | Oceanography | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / JPL / Caltech | ||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1978-064A | ||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 10967 | ||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | Operational: 3 months and 13 days | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
| Bus | Agena-D | ||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Ball Aerospace JPL | ||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 2,290 kg (5,050 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Power | 700 watts[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 27 June 1978, 01:12 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Atlas E/F Agena-D | ||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Last contact | 10 October 1978 UTC[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||||||||||
| Regime | Sun-synchronous | ||||||||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.00209 | ||||||||||||||
| Perigee altitude | 769 kilometers (478 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Apogee altitude | 799 kilometers (496 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Inclination | 108.0 degrees | ||||||||||||||
| Period | 100.7 minutes | ||||||||||||||
| Epoch | 26 June 1978, 21:12:00 UTC[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Instruments | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Seasat[3] was the first Earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth's oceans and had on board one of the first spaceborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). The mission was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of global satellite monitoring of oceanographic phenomena and to help determine the requirements for an operational ocean remote sensing satellite system. Specific objectives were to collect data on sea-surface winds, sea-surface temperatures, wave heights, internal waves, atmospheric water, sea ice features and ocean topography. Seasat was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was launched on 27 June 1978 into a nearly circular 800 km (500 mi) orbit with an inclination of 108°.[2] Seasat operated until 10 October 1978 (UTC),[1] when a massive short circuit in the Agena-D bus electrical system ended the mission.[4]
- ^ a b c d "Satellite:SeaSat". Observing Systems Capability Analysis and Review Tool. World Meteorological Organization. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Spacecraft - Telemetry Details". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Seasat: Mission Summary". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Report of the Seasat Failure Review Board" (PDF). Readings in Systems Engineering. NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program: 201–215. 1993. Bibcode:1993rse..nasa..201. NASA-SP-6102; N93-24678.