Mission type | Technology |
---|---|
Operator | KARI |
Mission duration | 2 years (planned) Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Launch mass | 100 kilograms (220 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 10 June 2010, 08:01 | UTC
Rocket | Naro-1 |
Launch site | Naro |
Contractor | Khrunichev/KARI |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime |
Low Earth (planned) Failed to orbit |
Perigee | 300 kilometres (190 mi) |
Apogee | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) |
Inclination | 80 degrees |
Epoch | Planned |
STSAT-2B, or Science and Technology Satellite 2B, was a South Korean satellite which was lost in the failure of the second flight of the Naro-1 carrier rocket. It was to have been operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and was intended to demonstrate technology for future spacecraft. The satellite had a mass of 100 kilograms (220 lb), and was expected to operate for at least two years.
STSAT-2B was originally intended to operate alongside a second spacecraft, STSAT-2A; however STSAT-2A was lost in 2009 after the payload fairing of its carrier rocket failed to separate, leaving the rocket unable to achieve orbit.
The primary instrument aboard STSAT-2B was the Dual-channel Radiometer for Earth and Atmosphere Monitoring, or DREAM, which would have measured the brightness temperature of the Earth at 23.8 GHz and 37 GHz. The secondary payload, the Laser Retroreflector Array or LRA was to have been used for the Satellite Laser Ranging experiment, which was intended to determine the parameters of the satellite's orbit with a greater degree of precision. Data collected by the secondary payload would have been used to calibrate DREAM, to conduct geodetic research, and to evaluate the performance of the carrier rocket. Due to lower manufacturing tolerance, the retroreflectors on STSAT-2B would have provided greater precision than those intended on STSAT-2A.
A series of technological experiments were also to have been conducted; investigating attitude control systems, and testing pulsed plasma thrusters, star trackers, a Sun sensor, as well as an experimental onboard computer, and data relay at rates of up to 10 megabits per second.
STSAT-2B was launched by a Naro-1 rocket, flying from the Naro Space Centre. The launch was the second flight of the Naro-1, which consisted of a modified Angara first stage manufactured by Khrunichev, and a South Korean solid-fuelled upper stage. The previous Naro-1 launch was that of STSAT-2A, which occurred in August 2009 and ended in failure.