CRRES (Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite)
A NASA and Department of Defense satellite to study the electrical, magnetic,
and particle environment of near-Earth space. The Air Force Geophysics Laboratory's
Spacerad (Space Radiation Effects) experiment investigated the radiation
environment of the inner and outer radiation belts and measured radiation
effects on state-of-the-art microelectronics devices. Other magnetospheric,
ionospheric, and cosmic ray experiments were supported by NASA and the Office
of Naval Research. Marshall Space Flight Center's project involved the release
of chemicals from onboard canisters at low altitudes near dawn and dusk
perigee (low orbit) times and at high altitudes near local midnight. These
releases were monitored with optical and radar instrumentation by ground-based
observers to measure the bulk properties and movement of the expanding clouds
of photoionized plasma along field lines. Contact with the spacecraft was
lost on October 12, 1991, following a battery failure.
| launch date |
Jul. 25, 1990 |
| launch vehicle |
Atlas I |
| launch site |
Cape Canaveral |
| orbit |
335 × 34,739 km × 18.0° |
| mass |
1,629 kg |
Related category
• SATELLITES
AND SPACE PROBES
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