Session
Technical Session I: Hardware In Space
Abstract
GFZ-1 is a small passive satellite, spherical in shape and equipped with laser reflectors. The satellite weighs about 20 kg and has a diameter of 21.5 cm. GFZ-1 was placed in a medium inclination low Earth orbit and is tracked by an international network of ground-based laser ranging systems. Satellite laser ranging to GFZ-1 is performed with centimeter accuracy in order to obtain high-precision determinations of the satellite's orbital motion. The objective is to improve the current knowledge of the Earth's gravity field and to derive the density of the upper atmosphere. In April this year GFZ-1 was launched from Baikonur aboard a Russian Progress supply vessel and transported to the space station MIR. It was ejected into a 400 km nearly circular orbit on 19 April 1995. GFZ-1 is the first non-Russian satellite launched from MIR. This project demonstrates the capability of MIR as an opportunity for placing microsatellites into low Earth orbit. The satellite was developed by Kayser-Threde, Munich, under contract of the German GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam in cooperation with the Russian industry. The project was realized within a period of only one year and a budget of less than 700 thousand US$ including design, manufacturing, test and launch cost
GFZ-1: A Geodetic Microsatellite Launched from Space Station MIR
GFZ-1 is a small passive satellite, spherical in shape and equipped with laser reflectors. The satellite weighs about 20 kg and has a diameter of 21.5 cm. GFZ-1 was placed in a medium inclination low Earth orbit and is tracked by an international network of ground-based laser ranging systems. Satellite laser ranging to GFZ-1 is performed with centimeter accuracy in order to obtain high-precision determinations of the satellite's orbital motion. The objective is to improve the current knowledge of the Earth's gravity field and to derive the density of the upper atmosphere. In April this year GFZ-1 was launched from Baikonur aboard a Russian Progress supply vessel and transported to the space station MIR. It was ejected into a 400 km nearly circular orbit on 19 April 1995. GFZ-1 is the first non-Russian satellite launched from MIR. This project demonstrates the capability of MIR as an opportunity for placing microsatellites into low Earth orbit. The satellite was developed by Kayser-Threde, Munich, under contract of the German GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam in cooperation with the Russian industry. The project was realized within a period of only one year and a budget of less than 700 thousand US$ including design, manufacturing, test and launch cost
