Astronomical Netherlands Satellite
The flight spare for the satellite
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| Names | Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet ANS |
|---|---|
| Operator | NIVR / NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1974-070A |
| SATCAT no. | 07427 |
| Mission duration | 20 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 129.8 kilograms (286 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | August 29, 1974 |
| Rocket | Scout |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-5 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Perigee | 266 km |
| Apogee | 1176 km |
| Period | 99.2 min |
| Main | |
| Wavelengths | X-ray and ultraviolet |
| Instruments | |
| Hard X-Ray (1.5 to 30 keV) Ultraviolet (5 channels, 150 to 330 nm) |
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The Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS; also known as Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet) was a space-based X-ray and ultraviolet telescope. It was launched into Earth orbit on 30 August 1974 at 14:07:39 UTC in a Scout rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States. The mission ran for 20 months until June 1976, and was jointly funded by the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (NIVR) and NASA. ANS was the first Dutch satellite, and the Main Belt asteroid 9996 ANS was named after it.
The telescope had an initial orbit of with a periapsis of 266 kilometres (165 mi), an apoapsis of 1,176 kilometres (731 mi), with inclination 98.0° and eccentricity 0.064048, giving it a period of 99.2 minutes. The orbit was sun-synchronous, and the attitude of the spacecraft could be controlled through reaction wheels. The momentum stored in the reaction wheels throughout the orbit was regularly dumped via magnetic coils that interacted with the Earth's magnetic field. The satellite also had two masses that were released shortly after orbit injection, to remove most of the satellite's angular momentum induced by the launcher. The attitude could be measured by a variety of techniques, including solar sensors, horizon sensors, star sensors and a magnetometer.
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