Tuesday, August 23, 1994

Polar Bear

 1986-088A


The followon to Hilat was based on spacecraft O-17, rescued from the Smithsonian and modified to become the Polar Beacon Experiment and Auroral Research satellite, Polar BEAR. It was launched in Nov 1986 to carry out a study of polar radio communications as Space Test Program flight P87-1. Above the Oscar a `pedestal' carried beacon electronics. Below it was the beacon wideband anteenna and the experiment deck.  After launch the spacecraft was checked out by APL and then controlled from Point Mugu.

The experiments included a UV auroral imager, AIRS, and an experiment to interrogate a ground-based sensor.


Polar Bear 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1986 Nov 14  0023:02  Launch by Scout G-1 V SLC5 
  T+1:18 St 1 burnout  
  T+1:18 St 2 burn 
  T+1:59 St 2 burnout 
  T+2:03 Heatshield sep 
  T+2:05 Stage 3 burn 
  T+3:53 Stage 3 burnout 
  T+12:35? Stage 3 sep  -4724? x 984 x 89.6 
 0035? T+12:40? Stage 4 burn  
 0036? T+13:14? Stage 4 burnout 
   976 x 1020 x 89.65 
 0038? Stage 4 sep 
 0040? Despin weights release 
  Momentum wheel activated 
  18m boom deployed 
1986 Dec 12   Operational, control to NAVASTROGRU 
1987 May 24 Spacecraft destabilized
1987 May 29   Normal attitude recovered 
1990 Jan   Still operational 
1992 Oct   end of ops

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