Publication Date:
2019-07-18
Description:
Over the past four years, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has built and tested the Triana observatory, which will be the first Earth observing science satellite to take advantage of the unique perspective offered by a Lissajous orbit about the first Earth-Sun Lagrange Point (L1). Triana was originally meant to fly on the U.S. Space Transportation System (a.k.a. the Space Shuttle but complications with the shuttle manifest have forced Triana into a 'wait and see' attitude. The observatory is currently being stored at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where it waits for an appropriate launch opportunity to surface. To that end, several possible alternatives have been considered, including variations on the nominal shuttle deployment scenario, a high inclination Delta-type launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, a Tsyklon class vehicle launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and a ride on a French Ariane vehicle out of French Guiana into a somewhat arbitrary geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). This paper chronicles and outlines the pros and cons of how each of these opportunities could be used to send Triana on its way to L1.
Keywords:
Spacecraft Design, Testing and Performance
Type:
International Conference on Libration Point Orbits and Applications; Jun 10, 2002 - Jun 14, 2002; Gerona; Spain
Format:
text
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