Stella

A French geodetic satellite, carrying 60 laser reflectors mounted on a dense sphere of uranium alloy, which is tracked to measure small perturbations in Earth's gravitational field. Reflected laser beams enable measurements, accurate to about 1 cm, of the geoid, oceanic and terrestrial tides, and tectonic movements. Stella's twin, Starlette, launched in 1975, is also still in use. See also France in space.

launch date	Sep. 26, 1993
launch vehicle	Ariane 4
launch site	Kourou
orbit	793 × 803 km × 98.7°
mass	48 kg

Related category

• SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES

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