1972-100A
The second DFVLR satellite launched by NASA was Aeros, a mission to study the upper atmosphere and the effect of the Sun on the Earth's atmosphere. Aeros was known to NASA as GRS-B (German Research Satellite B). It was sponsored by BMBW. The satellite was commanded from the German ground control center at Oberpfaffenhofen. It was launched into polar orbit on a Scout in Dec 1972, and worked successfully until its reentry in Aug 1973.
The satellite carried two despin weights which were not cataloged. Mass is 125 kg plus 0.5 kg yo-yo. Satellite is a cylinder 0.71m high 0.91m dia.
| Aeros | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Dec 16 | 1124:56 | Launch by Scout D-1 | V SLC5 |
| 1126:17 | Algol burnout T+1:21 | ||
| 1126:22 | Castor burn T+1:26 | ||
| 1127:02 | Castor burnout T+2:06 | ||
| 1128:00 | Heatshield eject T+3:04 | ||
| 1128:01 | Antares burn T+3:05 | ||
| 1128:37 | Antares burnout T+3:41 | ||
| 1128:42 | Coast | ||
| 1131:02 | Altair burn T+6:06 | ||
| 1131:33 | Altair burnout T+6:37 | ||
| 1135:57 | Altair sep, T+11:01 | ||
| 1135:59 | despin weights T+11:03 95.6 223 x 867 x 96.9 | ||
| 1973 May 28 | Primary mission complete | 91.60 206 x 499 x 97.0 | |
| 1973 May 29 | 0410? | Orbit raise | 93.18 206 x 653 x 97.0 |
| 1973 Aug 1 | 91.28 192 x 482 x 97.0 | ||
| 1973 Aug 2 | Perigee raise | 91.18 192 x 472 x 97.0 | |
| 1973 Aug 8 | 90.84 190 x 441 x 97.0 | ||
| 1973 Aug 9 | Perigee lower | 90.10 165 x 393 x 97.0 | |
| 1973 Aug 21 | 87.98 142 x 206 x 96.9 | ||
| 1973 Aug 22 | Reentered | ||
Payload:
- MS Mass spectrometer (MPIK/Krankowsky)
- RPA Retarding Potential Analyser, electron energy distribution (ApW-Freiburg/Spenner)
- IP Impedance Probe, electron density (ApW-Freiburg/Neske)
- EUV Solar EUV spectrometer 155-1038A (ApW-Freiburg/Schmidtke)
