Signe 3

SIGNE 3 was a French satellite placed in ORBit by the Soviet Union under a cooperative agreement. This satellite was part of the D2 series. Additional launch details - Launch Date: 1977-06-17, Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-5 (SKean IRBM) plus Upper Stage, Launch Site: Kapustin Yar, USSR, Mass: 102.0 kg. SIGNE stood for Solar Interplanetary Gamma-Neutron Experiment.

Signe 3 carried two scientific experiments, one for gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range 20 keV to 10 MeV, and one for continuous monitoring of the solar spectrum in two ultraviolet bands (180.0 to 195.0 nm and 205.0 to 220.0 nm). The main body of the spacecraft was a cylinder 70 cm dia and 81 cm in height. Electrical power was supplied by four solar panels extending 1.3 m from the spacecraft axis. The solar array provided 50 W to silver cadmium storage batteries. The telemetry equipment consisted of a PCM-PM system, using a 136.7-MHz, 0.5-W transmitter. Real-time data rate was 256 bps. An onboard tape recorder extended the data coverage until its failure in March 1978. The command system operated at 148.5 MHz and provided 54 separate commands. The telemetry network included three French stations (Toulouse, Pretoria, and Kourou) and five NASA stations (Ascension Island, Santiago, Quito, Orroral, and Merrit Island) The satellite control center was at Toulouse. The satellite axis was pointed towards the Sun at a 10° angle with respect to the Sun/Earth line. Nitrogen gas jets were used to maintain this orientation. Signe 3 reentered on Jun 20 1979.

External links

The content of this article was adapted and expanded from NASA's National Space Science Data Center SIGNE 3 url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1977-049A (Public Domain)