Английская Википедия:Ariel programme
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Ariel was a British satellite research programme conducted between the early 1960s and 1980s. Six satellites were launched as part of the programme, starting with the first British satellite, Ariel 1, which was launched on 26 April 1962, and concluding with the launch of Ariel 6 on 2 June 1979. The launch of Ariel 1 made Britain the third country to have a satellite orbiting the Earth.Шаблон:Sfn The first four were devoted to studying the ionosphere, the remaining two to X-ray astronomy and cosmic-ray studies.
Etymology
The name Ariel was suggested by the UK Minister of Science. The name was taken from a sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest.Шаблон:Sfn Prior to launch, the satellites were designated as UK and were renamed Ariel once they successfully reached orbit (e.g. UK 1 to Ariel 1).Шаблон:Sfn
Programme history
Managerial
At a meeting of the Committee on Space Research, the United States offered to provide assistance to other countries with the development and launch of scientific spacecraft.Шаблон:Sfn In late 1959, the British National Committee for Space Research (BNCSR) proposed the development of Ariel 1 to NASA.Шаблон:Sfn By early the following year the two countries had decided upon terms for the Ariel programme's scope and which organisations would be responsible for which parts of the programme.Шаблон:Sfn
In 1961 the UK Space Research Group accepted proposals for experiments to be carried on the third satellite of the Ariel programme. The BNCSR selected experiments from those proposals and submitted them to NASA in 1962. The scientific objectives for the mission were selected in January 1963, and full work on the satellite began in early 1964 due to organisational and financial difficulties.Шаблон:Sfn
Plans for Ariel 5 were first discussed between the UK and US in May 1967 at the Ariel 3 launch. The Science Research Council (SRC) advertised a request for proposal for experiments in June. Experiments were formally proposed to NASA in July 1968.Шаблон:Sfn
Operational
The first three satellites in the series were spin stabilized but had no attitude control system, which affected experiments which required pointing.Шаблон:Sfn Ariel 4 had some degree of attitude control by using magnetorquers.Шаблон:Sfn Since Ariel 5 was primarily an X-ray detecting satellite, more precise attitude control was needed. The spin rate could be actively changed using a propane cold gas thrusters, while spin angle was controlled with magnetorquers.Шаблон:Sfn
Experimental
The first four satellites primarily studied the ionosphere.Шаблон:Sfn It was realized that higher quality X-ray data could be collected in space, and the experiments of Ariel 5 were designed to meet that primary objective.Шаблон:Sfn The last satellite in the series had a cosmic ray experiment and two X-ray experiments which would expand the data collected by its predecessor.Шаблон:Sfn
Launch
All launches were conducted using American rockets. The Scout rocket was being developed as an inexpensive launcher for payloads up to Шаблон:Convert to low Earth orbit (LEO) and Ariel 1 was intended to launch on it. The Scout rocket was not ready in time, so Ariel 1 launched on the more expensive Thor-Delta, with the Americans footing the bill.[1] The remaining Ariel satellites launched on Scouts.Шаблон:Sfn
The first two launches were on the East coast. The Ariel 3 launch was originally planned for Wallops, but in 1964 experimenters requested an inclination change to the proposed orbit to maximize scientific value. This change precipitated the launch site moving to the West coast.Шаблон:Sfn Three of the experiments on Ariel 4 were the same as its predecessor, so it too launched from Vandenberg AFB.Шаблон:Sfn Like the first Ariel programme satellites, Ariel 5 was planned to launch from Wallops Island. The satellite would perform better operationally and scientifically at a near-equatorial orbit, close to a 0° inclination. To achieve this it was launched from the Italian San Marco off the coast of Kenya.Шаблон:Sfn The last satellite in the series did not require a special orbit, so Wallops Island was used as the launch facility. This was the first launch that the SRC paid for; previous launches were funded by NASA.Шаблон:Sfn
| Satellite | Launch date | Carrier rocket | Launch site | COSPAR ID | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel 1 | 1962-04-26 | Thor-Delta | Cape Canaveral | 1962-015A | Launch made Britain the third country to have a satellite orbit the Earth.Шаблон:Sfn Inadvertently damaged on 9 June 1962, by the high-altitude Starfish Prime nuclear testШаблон:Sfn[2] |
| Ariel 2 | 1964-03-27 | Scout | Wallops Island | 1964-015A | [3] |
| Ariel 3 | 1967-05-05 | Scout | Vandenberg | 1967-042A | The first satellite designed and constructed in the United Kingdom.[4] |
| Ariel 4 | 1971-12-11 | Scout | Vandenberg | 1971-109A | [5] |
| Ariel 5 | 1974-10-15 | Scout | San Marco | 1974-077A | Satellite operations were directed from a control centre at the Appleton Lab. |
| Ariel 6 | 1979-06-02 | Scout | Wallops Island | 1979-047A | The last satellite in the Ariel series. The first satellite in the series that Britain paid for the entire launch cost.[6] |
Notes
References
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite conference
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite book
External links
Шаблон:Ariel programme
Шаблон:Politics of outer space
Шаблон:Use British English
Шаблон:Use dmy dates
