ASTEX

 1971-089A

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The P71-2 satellite, also known as ASTEX (Advanced Space Technology Experiments), was launched on 1971 Oct 17 by a Long Tank Thrust Augmented Thor Agena D from Vandenberg. The spacecraft used an Agena D satellite bus.

CMP/SAMSO-002 was an IR astronomy experiment. According to Price the sensor was forced to scan along the horizon rather than at the zenith because of other payload requirements, and a cryocooler line leak ended the experiment after two weeks. CMP returned only three orbits of data but covered 82 percent of the sky in two bands.

The FRUSA (RTD-806) array was used in the design of the HST solar arrays. The ONR-001 experiment was to understand what happens to the ionosphere during a high altitude nuclear explosion; it seems to have used a solar storm to model this. NSA-001 was an experimental secure communications link. Known payloads had a mass of 217 kg.

P71-2
Date	Time	Event	Orbit
1971 Oct 17	1336	Launch by Thorad Agena D	V
	1338	VECO
	1338	Thor sep
	1338	Agena D burn
	1343?	Agena D MECO
	1430?	MES-2
	1431?	MECO-2
			100.7 773 x 803 x 92.7
1973 Dec		Still operating

Payload:

• CMP Celestial IR Mapping Program (SAMSO-002), 58 kg, studied IR background

• FRUSA Flexible Rolled Up Solar Array 9.75m (RTD-806), 113 kg

• NSA-001 NSA command and control interfaces, 8 kg

• ONR-001, LPARL payload, Study solar storm effects on polar phenomena, for modelling nuclear detonation effects on ionosphere, 38 kg

  • ERIS Earth Reflecting Ionospheric Sounder (LPARL/)

  • High resolution electron spectrometers (LPARL/Imhof) 

  • HEAPS High energy alpha-proton spectroemters (LPARL/Reagan) 

  • HEPS High Energy Proton Spectrometer (LPARL/Reagan)