| definition
| - Eole, a.k.a. CAS 1 (Cooperative Application Satellite), FR 2
(France), the second French experimental data relay satellite
for meteorological data and the first launched by NASA under a
cooperative agreement with the Centre National d'Etudes
Spatiales (CNES), was designed to function primarily as a
communications satellite to acquire and relay telemetered data
on altitude, pressure, temperature, moisture, and upper
atmospheric wind velocities from instrumented earth-circling
constant density meteorological balloons. The octagonally
shaped satellite measured 0.71 m across opposite corners and
was 0.58 m long. Electrical power (20 W average) was supplied
by eight rectangular solar panels deployed 45 deg from the EOLE
1 upper octagonal structure after orbital insertion, and by 15
rechargeable silver-cadmium batteries. Constant earth
orientation was maintained by a deployable 10.06-m gravity
gradient boom. Satellite spin was near zero rpm in orbit, and
the attitude was programme! d to remain stable within 9 deg of
local vertical. The data were stored on board the spacecraft
and unloaded on command when the spacecraft was within range of
the ground station. The onboard telemetry consisted of (1) a
136.350-MHz downlink transmitter for relaying balloon telemetry
to ground stations and also to serve as a tracking beacon, (2)
a 148.25-MHz receiver for receiving spacecraft commands and
telemetry programs for balloon operations, and (3) a
spacecraft-to-balloon transmitter (464.84 MHz) and receiver
(401.7196 MHz). The satellite operation was successful with the
exception of the inadvertent destruction of 71 balloons by an
erroneous ground command. The last balloon ceased transmitting
in January 1973. However, the spacecraft was subsequently used
to track and receive data from ocean buoys, icebergs, and
ships.
More info at:
"http://www.skyrocket.de/space/index_frame.htm?http://www.skyrocket.de
/space/doc_sdat/eole.htm"
[Source: Gunther's Space Page] (en)
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