Iridium 33

Iridium 33 was a communications satellite launched by Russia for Iridium Communications. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 01:36 UTC on 14 September 1997, by a Proton-K rocket with a Block DM2 upper stage.[2][3] The launch was arranged by International Launch Services (ILS). It was operated in Plane 3 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 230.9°.[2]

Iridium 33
A mockup of an Iridium satellite
Mission typeCommunication
OperatorIridium Satellite LLC
COSPAR ID1997-051C
SATCAT no.24946
Spacecraft properties
BusLM-700A
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass700 kg
Start of mission
Launch date14 September 1997, 01:36 UTC
RocketProton-K / DM2
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 81/23
ContractorKhrunichev
via International Launch Services
End of mission
Destroyed10 February 2009, 16:56 UTC
Collision with Kosmos 2251
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude779.6 km [1]
Apogee altitude793.9 km
Inclination86.4°
Period100.4 minutes
Epoch10 February 2009
 

Mission

Iridium 33 was part of a commercial communications network consisting of a constellation of 66 LEO spacecraft. The system uses L-Band to provide global communications services through portable handsets. Commercial service begins in 1998. The system employs ground stations with a master control complex in Landsdowne, Virginia, a backup in Italy, and a third engineering center in Chandler, Arizona.[4]

Spacecraft

The spacecraft was 3-axis stabilized, with a hydrazine propulsion system. It had 2 solar panels with 1-axis articulation. The system employed L-Band using FDMA/TDMA to provide voice at 4.8 kbps and data at 2400 bps with a 16 dB margin. Each satellite had 48 spot beams for Earth coverage and used Ka-Band for crosslinks and ground commanding.[4]

Destruction
Main article: 2009 satellite collision

On 10 February 2009, at 16:56 UTC, at about 800 km altitude, Kosmos 2251 (1993-036A) (a space debris Strela satellite) and Iridium 33 collided, resulting in the destruction of both spacecraft.[5] NASA reported that a large amount of space debris was produced by the collision, i.e. 1347 debris for Kosmos 2251 and 528 for Iridium 33.[6][7][8][9]

References
  1. "Iridium 33 tracking details". Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  2. Wade, Mark. "Iridium". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  3. Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  4. "Iridium 33: Display 1997". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. Iannotta, Becky (2009-02-11). "U.S. Satellite Destroyed in Space Collision". Space.com. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  6. "2 orbiting satellites collide 500 miles up". Associated Press. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  7. "Google Earth KMZ file of the debris". John Burns. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  8. "U.S. Space debris environment and operational updates" (PDF). NASA. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 5 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. "Javascript visualisation of Iridium 33 debris".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.