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The Cluster mission is an European Space Agency (ESA) unmanned space mission mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. The first four Cluster spacecraft were lost in the Ariane 5 flight failure on 1996 June 4, leading to the rebuilding of four new spacecraft and their successful launching in 2000 on Soyuz-Fregat rockets.
Mission overview - 4 satellites, 4-dimensional The satellite constellation researches the protective magnetosphere of the Earth that shields us from the continual solar wind. Cluster FM5 to FM8 (FM1 to FM4 were lost in the 1996 failed launch) measure three dimensional data from the collision of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field, its changes over time and the resulting effects on near-Earth space and its atmosphere including aurorae and even electrical outages. One goal of the mission was to improve the forecasting of space weather and the interruptions caused by the solar wind. The satellites are of cylindrical form (290 x 130 cm, see *) and are spin-stabilised at 15 rotations per minute. Their solar cells provide 224 watts power for instruments and communications. Launches in 2000 July and August On 2000 July 16 a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launched two of the Clusters (named Salsa and Samba) into a parking orbit from where they maneuvered under their own power into a 19,000 by 119,000 kilometre orbit with a period of 57 hours. Three weeks later on 2000 August 9 another Soyuz-Fregat rocket lifted the remaining two Cluster spacecraft into similar orbits. The four spacecraft manoeuvre into various geometric constellations in order to study magnetic structures. Their propellant for the manoeuvres make up half their launch weight. The spacecraft were named in a competition run by the European Space Agency (ESA). Many countries from all over Europe took part, however, Ray Cotton from the United Kingdom won the overall competition. The names were Rumba, Tango, Salsa and Samba. Ray's town of residence, Bristol, was awarded with scale models of the satellites in recognition of the naming and connection with the satellites. Constellation at the end of 2003 In December 2003 the four clusters formed a pyramidal structure of about 200 kilometres separation, which has been extended by 2005 to several thousand kilometres. The very elliptical orbits brings each satellite into many regions allowing its instruments to measure different magnetic effects: Chinese "Double Star" 2003 In late 2003 and the middle of 2004 the Chinese launched their Double Star satellites that worked together with Cluster to make synchronous measurements with much greater separations. 2002 | ||||||||
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