The NRL Solrad 8 satellite was one of the Solrad series that
began in 1960 to provide continuous coverage of solar radiation
with a set of standard photometers. Solrad 8 was a
spin-stabilized satellite oriented with its spin axis
perpendicular to the sun-satellite line so that the 14 solar
X-ray and ultraviolet photometers pointing radially outward from
its equatorial belt viewed the sun with each revolution. Data
were transmitted in real time by means of an FM/AM telemetry
system and were recorded by the stations on the STADAN tracking
network. The satellite performed normally except for the spin
system, which failed to maintain 60 rpm (at spin rates below 10
rpm data reduction became difficult). The spin rate gradually
decreased to 4 rpm on September 12, 1966. At that time, ground
command succeeded in reactivating spinup to 78 rpm, which
exhausted the gas supply. From this point, the spin rate
gradually decreased to 10 rpm in August 1967, when data
collection was substantially decreased.
[Summary provided by Gunther's Space Page]
Group: Platform_Details
Entry_ID: SOLRAD-8
Group: Platform_Identification
Platform_Category: Solar/Space Observation Satellites
Platform_Series_or_Entity: SOLRAD
Short_Name: SOLRAD-8
Long_Name: Solar Radiation-8
End_Group
Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names
Short_Name: SOLRAD-8
End_Group
Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments
Short_Name: SXP
End_Group
Creation_Date: 2008-01-14
Online_Resource: http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/explorer_se-a.htm
Sample_Image: http://space.skyrocket.de/img_sat/se-a__explorer30__solrad-8__1.jpg
Group: Platform_Logistics
Launch_Date: 1966-05-20
Primary_Sponsor: NASA
End_Group
End_Group (en)