Miranda (satellite)

Miranda
COSPAR ID 1974-013A
SATCAT № 07213[1]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Hawker Siddeley Dynamics
Launch mass 92 kilograms (203 lb)[2]
Power 2 deployable solar arrays
Start of mission
Launch date 9 March 1974, 02:22:00 (1974-03-09UTC02:22Z) UTC
Rocket Scout D-1
Launch site Vandenberg SLC-5
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth Orbit
Perigee 668 kilometres (415 mi)
Apogee 841 kilometres (523 mi)
Inclination 98 degrees
Period 100 minutes

Miranda, also known as X-4, is a British satellite in low Earth orbit. The satellite was launched in March 1974 as an engineering test bed of technologies in orbit.[2]

Launch

Miranda was due to be launched by a British Black Arrow rocket, but due to the project's cancellation the payload was instead launched on a NASA-owned rocket.[2]

Mission

Designed as an engineering test bed for various technologies in orbit, Miranda carried various sensors and detectors.[2]

Current Status

The satellite is now non-active, but remains in low Earth orbit. Miranda is part of the vast amounts of space junk in orbit around the Earth and will decay into the atmosphere some time in the future.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sat Cat". Celestrak. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Miranda (X 4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
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