 | Early Bird
Credit - NASA
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Class: Surveillance. Type: Civilian. Destination: Sun Synchronous Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: EarthWatch, Longmont. Manufacturer: Orbital Sciences. Civilian earth resources / intelligence photo-imaging program. Typical orbit: 479 km x 488 km at 97 degrees inclination.
Early Bird Chronology - 1997 December 24 - Early Bird - Launch Site: Svobodniy. Launch Complex: LC5. Launch Vehicle: Topol. Perigee: 479 km (297 mi). Apogee: 488 km (303 mi). Inclination: 97.30 deg. Period: 94.10 min.
- 2000 November 20 - QuickBird 1 - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Complex: LC132/1. Launch Vehicle: Kosmos 3. FAILURE: Second stage failed to restart at apogee. Mass: 950 kg (2,090 lb). Perigee: 80 km (49 mi). Apogee: 614 km (381 mi). Inclination: 65.70 deg. Period: 91.49 min.
The Kosmos-3M second stage entered an 81 x 614 km x 65.8 deg orbit but failed to restart at apogee, and reentered at the next perigee over Uruguay. The loss of the QuickBird 1 satellite was a heavy blow to EarthWatch Inc. QuickBird1 was a 1-m resolution commerical imaging satellite using a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus. Their earlier satellite, EarlyBird, failed after a few days in orbit in December 1997. EarthWatch's rival, SpaceImaging, lost one satellite as well but its second Ikonos was operating in orbit.
Bibliography:- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Report (Internet Newsletter), Harvard University, Weekly, 1989 to Present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- NASA/GSFC Orbital Information Group Website, Web Address when accessed: http://oig1.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
- Space-Launcher.com, Orbital Report News Agency. Web Address when accessed: http://www.orbireport.com/Log.html.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.
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