Astronomy

Satellites and Spacecraft

Information on a number of spacecraft can be found on the WWW:

NOTE: These pages and links have been on the web for over 15 years, and they continue to evolve.
This page owes a special thanks to Jenna Hill's students in Colorado and Cassandra Smith's students at Brighter Futures Charter School in California for link suggestions.

Artificial Satellites
- General
  - Basics of Space Flight Learners' Workbook
  - CSLP - Cooperative Satellite Learning Project
  - Geostationary Orbits
  - Heavens Above
  - ISS location - International Space Station
  - NASA/GSFC Orbital Information Group
  - Satellite data from the SSEC (Space Science and Engineering Center)
  - Satellite tracking from NASA (HST, Shuttle, ISS, Mir, etc.)
- GPS - Global Positioning System
  - A Guide to GPS Navigation from Fleetmatics
  - Good discussion of GPS Devices from Leland-West Insurance
  - Another good discussion of The GPS Revolution from TItle Loan ASAP
- Intelsat communications satellite
- Iridium satellite constellation
ESA Missions (current)
- Solar System Program
  - Cluster II, a satellite for 3-d mapping of Earth's magnetosphere
  - Mars Express, including ASPERA
  - Huygens, a probe to explore Titan (see Cassini)
  - Rosetta, ESA's Rendezvous Mission with a Comet
  - SMART-1 - the first of the Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology
  - Ulysses, to explore the high-latitude heliosphere
- Universe Program
  - Darwin, an infrared space interferometer
  - FIRST - Far InfraRed and Submillimetre Telescope
  - Hipparcos, astrometry satellite
  - INTEGRAL - International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory
  - ISO - Infrared Space Observatory
  - Planck
  - XMM - High-Throughput X-Ray Spectroscopy Mission
NASA Missions (current, recent, and future)
- Discovery Program
  - CONTOUR - COmet Nucleus TOUR
  - Dawn, a mission to the asteroids Ceres and Vesta
  - Deep Impact
  - Genesis
  - Kepler, a search for habitable planets
  - Lunar Prospector
  - Mars Pathfinder
  - MESSENGER - MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging mission
  - NEAR - Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
  - Stardust, comet sample return mission
- Explorer Program
  - MIDEX - Medium-class Explorer missions
    - ABE - AstroBiology Explorer (proposed)
    - ACE - Advanced Composition Explorer
    - AMM - Auroral Multiscale Midex mission
    - ASCE - Advanced Solar Coronal Explorer
    - FAME - Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer
    - FUSE - Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer
    - IMAGE - Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration
    - MAP - Microwave Anisotropy Probe
    - NGSS - Next Generation Sky Survey
    - RXTE - Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
    - Swift, the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer
    - THEMIS, Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms
  - SMEX - Small Explorer missions
    - AIM - Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere Explorer
    - FAST - Fast Auroral SnapshoT Explorer
    - GALEX - Galaxy Evolution Explorer
    - HESSI - High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager
    - SAMPEX - Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer
    - SPIDR - Explorer for Spectroscopy and Photometry of the Intergalactic Medium's Diffuse Radiation
    - SWAS - Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite
    - TRACE - Transition Region And Coronal Explorer
    - WIRE - Wide-Field Infrared Explorer
  - UNEX - University-class Explorer missions
    - Alladin, a Mars sample return mission
    - CHIPS - Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer
    - IMEX - Inner Magnetosphere Explorer
    - STEDI - Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative
      - CATSAT - Cooperative Astrophysics and Technology Satellite
      - SNOE - Student Nitric Oxide Explorer
      - TERRIERS - Tomographic Experiment using Radiative Recombinative Ionospheric EUV and Radio Sources
- GGS Initiative - Global Geospace Science
  - POLAR - mission to study the poles of the Earth's magnetosphere
- International Laser Ranging Service - laser ranging satellites
- Missions of Opportunity
  - TWINS - Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers
- New Millenium Program
  - Deep Space 1
  - Mars Microprobe Project (Deep Space 2)
  - Nanosat Constellation Trailblazer Mission
  - Space Technology 3
  - ST4/Champollion (previously known as Deep Space 4; now canceled)
  - Earth Observing 1
  - SPARCLE - SPAce Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment (Earth Observing 2)
  - Earth Observing 3
- Other Missions
  - LISA - Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
Orbital Telescopes
- Radio
  - COBE - COsmic Background Explorer
  - SIM - Space Interferometry Mission
  - Space VLBI, radio interferometry (comprising VSOP & RadioAstron)
  - ARISE - Advanced Radio Interferometry between Space and Earth
- Submillimeter
  - Submillimetron Project (proposed)
- Infrared
  - IRAS - InfraRed Astronomical Satellite
  - SIRTF - Space InfraRed Telescope Facility
- Optical
  - HST - Hubble Space Telescope
    - HDF - Hubble Deep Field
    - HubbleSite, an excellent public page
    - Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale
  - NGST - Next Generation Space Telescope
    - Science with NGST
- Ultraviolet
  - Copernicus, a UV spectroscopy mission in the late 1970's
  - EUVE - Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer
  - HUT - Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope
  - IUE - International Ultraviolet Explorer
  - ORFEUS - Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometers
  - UIT - Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
  - WUPPE - Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment
- X-ray
  - ASCA - Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (formerly Astro-D)
  - Astro-E, the fifth Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite
  - BeppoSAX - Satellite per Astronomia X "Beppo", an Italian/Dutch X-ray satellite
  - CXO - Chandra X-ray Observatory (previously AXAF)
  - EXOSAT, European X-ray Observatory
  - Einstein, an older X-ray satellite
  - Ginga, the third Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite (formerly Astro-C)
  - IXAE - Indian X-ray Astronomy Experiment
  - ROSAT, a European X-ray observatory
  - SXG - Spectrum-X-Gamma
  - Uhuru, the first X-ray satellite
- Gamma ray
  - CGRO - Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
  - GLAST - Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (proposed)
  - GRISP - Gamma Ray Astronomy Satellite Experiment NATALYA-II
  - HETE-II - High Energy Transient Explorer
Other Planetary Missions
- Pioneer, a series of 8 early planetary probes
- Voyager, a pair of solar system explorers
- Sun
  - SOHO - Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  - Solar-B, to explore the solar corona
  - STEREO - Solar-TErrestrial RElations Observatory
  - Yohkoh solar imager
- Venus
  - Magellan, a Venus mapping mission
- Earth/Moon
  - Aqua, an EOS satellite studying Earth's water cycle
  - Clementine, a lunar mapping mission
  - Equator-S, a German spacecraft to study the equatorial magnetosphere
  - GEOTAIL, a satellite for magnetospheric studies
  - Terra, the EOS (Earth Observing System) flagship
- Mars
  - 2001 Mars Odyssey
  - Mars Global Surveyor, a Mars mapping mission
  - Mars Network
  - Mars Surveyor 98
    - Mars Climate Orbiter
    - Mars Polar Lander
      - interactive curriculum guide from the Apple Learning Exchange
  - Mars Surveyor 2001
  - Nozomi, a Japanese mission to Mars
- Jupiter
  - Galileo
    - Online from Jupiter
- Saturn
  - Cassini
Miscellaneous
- CRRES - Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite
- ExNPS - Exploration of Nearby Planetary Systems
- Gravity Probe B, an experiment in general relativity
- IMP-8 - Interplanetary Monitoring Platform 8, our oldest operating spacecraft
- Robots
  - Nomad, a robot that searches for meteorites in Antarctica
- SIR-C - Space Imaging Radar
- Starshine, a student project to track a satellite in orbit

pls@astro.caltech.edu

Last modified: Monday, Feb 13, 2012 11:30:17 AM PST