1975-010A
Starlette was the first laser geodetic satellite, preceding NASA's Lageos by a year. The 0.24m diameter Al-Mg sphere contained a depleted U-238 core to give it a mass of 48 kg. The surface was studded with 60 laser reflectors. Starlette boasted the somewhat contrived acronym of `Satellite de Taille adaptee avec Reflecteurs pour les etudes de la Terre'. It was launched on the test flight of the Diamant B P.4 from Kourou in Feb 1975, featuring a new second stage booster. The third stage was 750 kg full 62 kg empty.
Presumably there was additional attach hardware but its mass is unknown.
A radio transmitter operated for 5 hours, but the main mission of the satellite was entirely passive. Starlette was built in-house by CNES.
| Starlette | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 Feb 6 | 1635 | Launch by Diamant B P.4 | CSG ELD |
| 1636:58? | T+1:58? Emeraude MECO | ||
| 1636:59 | Stage 2 P4 burn 62s | ||
| 1638:01? | P4 MECO | ||
| Coast | |||
| Fairing sep | |||
| 1640? | T+5m Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1641? | Stage 3 burn | ||
| 1642? | Stage 3 burnout | ||
| 1645? | Spin down, weights | ||
| 1647 | Stage 3 sep, Orbit insertion | 104.1 806 x 1108 x 49.8 | |
| 2136 | End of transmissions | ||
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