Cerise (satellite)
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Cerise was a French military reconnaissance satellite. Its main purpose was to intercept HF radio signals for French intelligence services.[1] With a mass of 50 kg, it was launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana at 17:23 UT, 7 July 1995.[1] Cerise's initial orbital parameters were period 98.1 min, apogee 675 km, perigee 666 km, and inclination 98.0 deg.[1]
It was hit by a catalogued space debris object from an Ariane rocket in 1996, making it the first verified case of a collision between two objects in space.[2]
The collision tore off a 4.2-metre (13-foot) portion of Cerise's gravity-gradient stabilization boom, which left the satellite severely damaged.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "SPACEWARN Bulletin Number 501". NASA. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "CO2 prolongs life of space junk". BBC News. 2005-05-05. Retrieved 2006-03-08.
[edit] External links
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